


Minioltzmann

by aloc, Dreamshaper



Category: Ghostbusters (2016)
Genre: F/F, THIS IS PURE INSANITY, You will see why, no nasty stuff in here XD, no worries though, special thanks to aloc for the cute art, teehee
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-14
Updated: 2019-04-16
Packaged: 2019-06-18 20:40:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 32,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15494238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aloc/pseuds/aloc, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dreamshaper/pseuds/Dreamshaper
Summary: After finding The Book online, Erin finds Abby to get her to take it down. She's quite unprepared for Abby's colleague.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This all started with a talk between aloc and me - "Imagine Holtzmann had minions." "Imagine Holtz WAS a minion." Well. Here we are. ;D

“I can’t believe this”, Erin mumbled to herself as she stared at her computer screen, disbelief widening her eyes, “I can’t believe she… oh my God, Abby, you promised you wouldn’t do this.”

She stared at the Amazon page, at the cover of the book she knew all too well; she had successfully repressed the fact that she had helped writing this book, over a decade ago, hadn’t thought about it in a long time, and now, here it was, right there on her screen.

And if she could see it, the rest of the world could, too, and at the thought of her colleagues at Columbia seeing it, her stomach clenched up.

“Doctor Gilbert”, the voice of the dean, well known and quite feared, interrupted her, and she froze, then quickly closed the window before she smiled brightly at the man; he started talking about her upcoming tenure meeting, but she barely could focus on his words, too distraught by what she had found online, after what an unexpected visitor at the lecture hall had told her about how he had found the book and had a haunted mansion and was looking for help.

“…so we’ll see you for your final review on Thursday”, Dean Filmore said, Erin managing to focus on him again just in time to nod at the right moment, “we’re looking forward to it, Doctor Gilbert.”

“Me too, Sir, me too”, Erin said brightly, only to realize that she had tried a bit too hard when his eyebrow twitched; he said nothing though, but just nodded and left, and the moment she could be sure he was gone, Erin shot up from her chair, grabbed her bag and hurried off, eager to get to the college Abby apparently worked at now and confront her about what she had done.

* * *

The ride to Higgins didn’t take long, and Erin was thankful for this fact, not wanting her anger to puff away; she carefully nursed it, telling herself that she’d need it to confront Abby, deep down knowing that she had no true right to yell at Abby, not after how she had abandoned her all those years ago, not after how she simply had left without an explanation, without even telling her she was leaving.

She pushed those thoughts even further down though, and didn’t allow herself to dwell on them; and once the taxi driver had dropped her off at the college, she pulled out her phone to glance at the Amazon page once more, the sight of the book listed right there, for the world to see, enough to make her anger burn brightly again, and to let her forget all guilt.

Setting her jaw, Erin marched into the building and, after some questioning of random students and older people she assumed were teachers, even though they didn’t look the part, had been told where Abby could be found; people looked at her oddly when she asked for her former best friend, but she didn’t think much of it, figuring that the people at this laughable excuse for a college found the belief in ghosts and the paranormal as laughable as those at Columbia did.

Even with the directions she had been given, it took Erin a bit of wandering around to find the lab Abby used; her name was on the door at least though, along with “Dr Jillian Holtzmann”, showing that apparently, Abby had found some sort of replacement for her, someone to share her wild ideas.

Despite her anger, Erin was still polite, and knocked the door before entering; the lab appeared empty at first glance, but she could hear someone working at the far back of it, and took in a deep breath before she called out “Hello?”.

“Would you look at that”, Abby’s voice came up in response, and Erin’s heart clenched up at the mere sound, the physicist only now realizing how much she had been missing her best friend the last few years; clearly, Abby wasn’t feeling the same though, not looking happy to see her as she came into view, with some sort of absurd looking helmet on her head, the ridiculous contraption not making her obvious dismay any less painful for Erin though.

“Erin”, Abby added when Erin didn’t say anything, “what are you doing here?”

“You put the book online”, Erin gave back, fighting hard to not let her voice tremble, not wanting Abby to see how much seeing her again had upset her, “without my permission! I’m about to get tenure and now you do this?!”

The thought of losing the chance for tenure brought her anger back and pushed her pain aside, and she glared at Abby; clearly, Abby was unimpressed though, coldly telling her she didn’t need any permission, unimpressed by the gasp Erin let out.

“Of course you do”, she then insisted, clenching her fists in helpless fury as she realized that Abby had no intention to do her the favour of taking the book down, “I wrote that book with you, my name is on it! If anyone from Columbia googles my name, they will find this!”

“And if anyone googles my name, they will find an interview I gave alone, instead of with my best friend and co-author”, Abby said, and Erin had to hold back a wince, “so certainly understand that I’m not overflowing with sympathy. You know where the door is.”

She turned and walked off, ignoring it when Erin called out her name; feeling helpless and a bit lost at just being dismissed like this, Erin just stood there for a moment, trying to figure out what to do, and that was when the oddly cartoonish, squeaky voice piped up from behind her.

“Po aca dub?”

Startled, Erin twirled around, and nearly screamed at the creature which grinned at her from the high stool close to one of the workbenches, the blowtorch the weird being was holding hissing to life.

It was hard to tell with the creature up on the chair, but from what Erin could see, it would reach up to her knee when standing; its yellow body reminded her of a gigantic tic-tac, the hands and feet looking oddly small compared to the rest of said body, comically large, round eyes peering at her from behind a pair of safety goggles, a wild tuft of hair crowning the creature’s head.

“What”, Erin brought out in a high voice, almost as squeaky as the creature’s, “what the heck is that?!”

Unperturbed by the physicist’s reaction, the yellow being gave her another toothy smile, letting her notice how blocky and large the teeth actually were, then put out the blowtorch and let it drop onto the workbench before it hopped off the stool.

“Holtzy”, it said, waving a three-fingered, gloved hand at her, still grinning; Erin could only blink, but thankfully, Abby chose that moment to come back, and the fond look she gave the yellow creature only made Erin’s confusion grow.

“This is Holtzmann”, Abby said, moving to stand next to the little round creature, “she works here in the lab with me.”

“She”, Erin repeated, her mind reeling, “works… in the lab with you?”

“Yes”, Abby confirmed, Holtzmann giving Erin another toothy grin and waving again, as if to confirm Abby’s words, “and before you ask, no, she’s not some sort of pet or anything, she used to be human just like me and you. Long story. Why are you still here?”

“Abby, Abby”, Holtzmann let out before Erin could answer, tucking at her pants and making her look down at her, “EMP! Show!”

“No, it’d be a waste”, Abby said, shaking her head, “I’ve told you, Erin’s not interested in this anymore. Again, Erin, why are you still here? I told you, I don’t need your permission to publish the book.”

“Take it down, please”, Erin decided that she wasn’t above begging, not with her tenure at stake like this – it wasn’t like she had kissed ass before to get where she was today, and she figured that if she had to beg Abby, she’d grit her teeth and do so, if only to secure the position she had.

“People are already finding it”, she added when Abby didn’t react at once, “a man came to see me today, at my work! Telling me his building is haunted! What if the dean had been there?!”

“Which building”, Abby demanded to know while Holtzmann started bouncing on her little feet, eyes wide behind the goggles; Erin shrugged, then told them, only to gape again when Abby hurried to grab a duffel bag and Holtzmann waddled to the door, surprisingly fast, considering how short her legs and how small her feet were.

“Where are you going?!” Erin cried out, not having expected this the slightest, eyes going wide again when Abby said they would go meet the man who had contacted her; she made one final try to ask for the book being taken down, and at least, Abby relented a tiny bit this time, letting her know she would if she’d introduce them to the man who had shown up at her lecture.

“Yes, I will, of course”, Erin agreed at once, “he’d love to meet you. Um… you’re taking… Holtzmann? Won’t people, you know, stare?”

“This is New York”, Abby dismissed her concerns, “nobody’s gonna bat an eye. Now are you coming or not?”


	2. Chapter 2

Erin had been planning to leave right after introducing Abby and her strange companion to Ed Mulgrave Junior, but as it turned out, said weird companion had other ideas; once Erin had made the introductions and wanted to leave, Holtzmann tugged at her skirt, and when she looked down at the little yellow creature, she was met with the cutest set of puppy dog eyes she had ever seen, the size of said eyes only making them work better.

She faltered then, finding herself unable to say no to that look; and so, once she had sighed and nodded, Holtzmann let out a squeal and grinned widely, then hurried after Abby, having to move quite fast to catch up.

If Abby didn’t like the thought of Erin going into the mansion with them, she didn’t let it show; instead, she just pulled out a camera and started recording, Erin making sure to stay out of the frame, not wanting to be captured on video during what could only be called a ghost hunt.

Apparently, Holtzmann had no such qualms, bouncing from here to there, like an oversized yellow rubber ball; Erin had to admit that she looked quite adorable, with her little black shoes and the blue denim overalls, her hair flopping this way and that as she moved through the mansion.

After a while of doing that, Holtzmann came bouncing back, and stopped in front of Erin, forcing the physicist to stop too she wouldn’t end up kicking her; she gestured at Erin to bend down, and Erin did so without thinking about it, only to frown when Holtzmann flicked the bow tie at her collar.

“Libo bow fad”, she said, grinning, Erin’s frown deepening, “donde?”

“She wants to know where you got that tiny bow tie”, Abby helpfully supplied, making Erin wonder how she could actually understand this nonsense; she felt her cheeks heat up as she mumbled something about how it had come with the shirt, but at least, this answer seemed to satisfy Holtzmann, since she let out a snort of laughter before she bounced away again, following Abby as the researcher moved further into the mansion. 

Erin hung back a little, not quite sure if she was actually welcome; Abby hadn’t outright told her to leave, but made no effort to include her either, the physicist frowning to herself as she walked after them, only to nearly slip and fall when her foot came down on something squishy.

Frowning again, she bent down for a closer look, finding a glob of a green, slimy substance on the floor; with her frown deepening, Erin touched it, then sniffed it, letting out a noise of dismay at the not all too pleasant smell and at how the stuff felt on her fingers.

As if on cue, a heavy wooden door swung open behind her, complete with ominous creaking sound; at how well timed this was, Erin grimaced, figuring that she was being made fun of, not bothering to keep the annoyance out of her voice when she caught up with Abby and Holtzmann and spoke up.

“Is this some big joke?” she demanded to know, both turning to look at her, Holtzmann letting out an “eh?” sound, Erin not allowing herself to dwell on how adorable it had been, “the stuff on the floor, the door opening? Are you trying to freak me out?”

“I didn’t open that”, Abby said, sounding too genuinely surprised to let Erin believe for even a second she was lying, “Holtz, did you open that?”

“No, underwear”, Holtzmann replied solemnly, placing one hand over where Erin assumed her heart was; she figured that the little yellow creature had meant to say “I swear”, a bit surprised at herself at how fast she was picking up the weird language Holtzmann was speaking.

“Um”, Abby let out, her eyes going wide, and Erin couldn’t resist turning around; and upon doing so, her breath got caught in her throat as she saw the blue glow shining from the opened door, increasing as the ghostly figure of Gertrude Aldridge floated up the stairs and out into the hallway.

“You’re seeing this, too, aren’t you”, Erin whispered, Abby letting out a vaguely agreeing noise while Holtzmann said “si”, sounding awed, too; the ghost floated closer, smiling benevolently, but just when Erin decided she wanted to step forward and speak to it, a loud munching noise came from her right, and she flinched, amazed to see that Holtzmann was eating a banana when she looked at her.

“How can you be eating right now”, she demanded to know, shaking her head; Holtzmann shrugged, then simply said “banana” before she gulped the second half of said fruit down, chomping noisily.

“I’ll try to talk to her”, Erin decided to ignore this behaviour, looking at the ghost again, “she seems peaceful, so…”

“Be careful”, Abby whispered, filming everything, Holtzmann saying “kegpya” in a hushed tone; Erin nodded, not pausing the ask what it had meant, then addressed the ghost, trying her best to sound calm and reassuring when she spoke up.

“Hi, um, hello”, she said, not caring anymore that Abby was filming all of this, “I’m Erin Gilbert, Doctor of Particle Physics at Colum—”

The ghost cut her off with a shrill scream which made her jump, her face going from benevolent kindness to a gruesome skull-like thing, straight out of a nightmare – before she unhinged her jaw and slime started to spew forth, Erin bringing her hands up in a helpless attempt to stop it when it rained down on her.

It was ice cold, and smelled bad, and it went _everywhere;_ she heard Abby gasp behind her and heard Holtzmann let out a yelp, and still the slime continued, seemed to go on forever, until the ghost apparently had enough and let out a nasty cackle before she flew off, vanishing through the window.

“Oh God”, Erin brought out, spitting as speaking made slime slide into her mouth, “oh _God._ What just happened?”

“We saw a ghost”, Abby told her, moving to her side to make sure she was okay, Holtzmann waddling along, running one finger through the slime on her leg and then poking out a surprisingly broad tongue to lick it, the face she made afterwards almost making Erin laugh despite how grossed out she was, “and it ectoprojected all over you. Are you okay?”

“Well, it’s not melting my skin off, which is a plus”, Erin said, wiping at her face, “but it’s disgusting. I just want a shower and fresh clothes. Like, now.”

“We have a shower back at the lab”, Abby told her, earning a grateful look, “you can come back there with us, if you want.”

Holtzmann nodded, then poked out her tongue and wiped at it, letting out a “blerch” sound which made Erin laugh; she nodded as well, recognizing the clear invitation, and together, the three of them left the mansion, and headed back to Higgins, the book and the consequences it might have for the moment forgotten.


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks to her lack of size, it had been difficult for Holtzmann to continue her work after her change, at first; Abby had helped her though to fix the lab so that she could still work with ease, some workbenches having been lowered while others had higher stools now, and so, working for her was almost as easy as it had been, before.

It had taken her a while to get used to having just three fingers instead of five, but she had learned to deal with this, as well; and so, she worked with almost the same speed she’d had before the change.

She had to focus harder though, and so, she jumped and almost fell off her stool when the door flew open and a very angry Erin came storming into the lab.

“I got fired!” Erin snapped, slamming her bag down on the side as Holtzmann reeled on her stool, arms flailing as she fought to not fall after all, “fired! After years of hard work and ass kissing… god, I kissed so many different asses…”

Her anger turned into feeling desolate, and Holtzmann felt bad for her, hopping off the stool and waddling over to her; she couldn’t reach higher than her knee, so she patted her shin and said “bada bada”, Erin sighing as she looked at her, making her feel woefully inadequate and, not for the first time, prompting her to curse her inability to speak properly, like a human would.

“Where’s Abby”, Erin demanded to know instead of acknowledging Holtzmann’s attempt at comforting her in any way, “she posted the video and got me fired, the least she can do is be here to let me yell at her!”

“Abby tumtum”, Holtzmann replied, and Erin gave her a blank look; Holtzmann held back a sigh, remembering that Erin didn’t understand her the way Abby did – _not yet_ , a small hopeful voice at the back of her head whispered – and mimed eating, then patted her belly, smiling brightly at Erin afterwards.

It was an adorable sight, Erin had to admit, getting over the strangeness surprisingly quickly, and she found it hard to remain angry at this; and so, she found herself smiling, asking if Abby had gone out to get food just to confirm, feeling oddly proud when Holtzmann nodded.

“I’ll just wait here, then, if it’s okay for you”, she said, sighing to herself as some of the sadness came back at her next thought, “it’s not like I have anywhere else to go.”

Holtzmann shrugged in response, then nodded and waddled back to the workbench; Erin watched her climb up on the stool, and pick up one of her tools, after a moment moving to stand beside her, looking at the object she was working on.

It looked like a cotton candy machine, she nonsensically thought to herself, Holtzmann apparently not perturbed by having her watch her work; for a while, Erin did so in silence, trying to figure out what this was, then finally spoke up, asking her what this was.

“PKE meter”, Holtzmann said, swivelling to look at her, dangerously fast, and Erin got ready to catch her, should she look as if she’d be in danger of falling off her chair again, “pen booyah.”

“I’m sorry, I’m not sure I understand”, Erin decided to be honest, even though she feared this might hurt Holtzmann’s feelings, “a PKE meter? For finding ghosts?”

“Pen booyah”, Holtzmann nodded, smiling brightly, Erin figuring that she had understood it correctly after all, the physicist peering curiously at the gadget, wondering if it actually worked.

“Does it work?” she asked out loud, and Holtzmann nodded at once, then pointed to herself, a look of intense concentration coming over her face as she carefully pronounced what she wanted to say.

“Nu-cu-lar”, she started, Erin feeling a bit bad for making her do this, since she didn’t look as if it was easy, “en. Chi. Near.”

“Nuclear engineer”, Erin repeated, proud of herself for having heard it right at the first try when Holtzmann beamed at her and nodded enthusiastically, “you’re a nuclear engineer?”

“Si!” Holtzmann nodded enthusiastically; Erin found herself smiling again, but also wondered what had happened to make her look like this, thinking back to what Abby had said about how she had been human once, but figured that she didn’t know her well enough yet to ask, and thus kept her questions to herself.

“Oh hi Erin”, Abby’s voice distracted her from Holtzmann’s work, and for a moment, her anger flared back up as it had been the video Abby had made and had put online which had gotten her fired, “welcome back?”

“This it not a friendly visit”, Erin told her, finding it hard to stay mad again though when Holtzmann gave her a puppy dog look, much like she had back at the mansion, “like I just told Holtzmann, I got fired. That stupid video you uploaded somehow was seen by someone from Columbia, and they showed the dean, and I got fired.”

“Oh jeez Erin, I’m sorry”, Abby said, sounding so genuinely distraught for her that once again, Erin found it difficult to stay angry, and when Holtzmann reached out and awkwardly patted her shoulder, something she could do now thanks to being up on the stool, her anger puffed away fully, “really, I am, I didn’t mean for that to happen.”

“…I know”, Erin sighed, admitting something she deep down had known already when she had been told by Dean Filmore that she was fired, “well, can’t be changed anymore, anyway. Is the video at least successful?”

“Yes”, Abby said, beaming and making Holtzmann grin widely again as well, “we got a bunch of views and comments already. Some claim that the video is fake, of course, but others are posting about how they think they are haunted and need help. We might be on to something here, if we find a way to trap a ghost like the one yesterday… And you can start here, Erin! No one’s is better at particle physics than you, and we can do some ground-breaking research, the three of us, all we have to do is walk up there and ask for more money. They’d be happy to have you here, I’m sure.”

Erin smiled, and nodded, suddenly not feeling so desolate anymore, telling herself that things would turn out alright and that she’d have a new job within the hour.

Instead, not even an hour later, she found herself running from the lab with stolen goods after the dean had fired Abby and Holtzmann – and had been quite dumbfounded at Holtzmann’s appearance – and had to realize that perhaps, things wouldn’t work out so fast after all.


	4. Chapter 4

The space they had rented above a Chinese restaurant wasn’t ideal for a lab, but better than nothing, and all they could afford for now; and so, they set up there, and while Erin wasn’t all too happy, she quickly realized that Holtzmann apparently loved it, babbling happily to herself as she daringly hopped from chair to chair and placed her tools on the table she’d use as a workbench.

Erin was a bit worried to see her hop around like that, like a frog from one lilypad to the next, concerned that she might fall and hurt herself, but Holtzmann apparently had no such worries, jumping up on the table and hopping over to the old-timey boombox she had put up there, grinning broadly at Erin before she pushed the play button.

“Bocami!” she enthusiastically told Erin, the physicist just smiling in response, not quite sure what this meant, Holtzmann clearly not perturbed by her lack of response though, raising her gloved fists as if in triumph.

“Plano!” she cried, then started dancing on the table, Erin finally figuring out what she had meant; she smiled a bit more genuinely this time, the sight being quite adorable, only for her smile to fade in concern when Holtzmann grabbed a blowtorch with each hand.

“Okay, dancing is all well and good”, she said, alarmed, “but let’s be safe, alright?”

“Plano!” Holtzmann shouted again in response, twirling the blowtorches artfully – and setting fire to a roll of paper towels, Erin yelping as flames started to flicker, thinking of nuclear materials and possible dangers this could bring.

“Holtz!” she cried out, gesturing wildly in an attempt to gain the engineer’s attention, “Holtzy! Holtzmann! Fire!”

This finally got through to Holtzmann, and she stopped dancing, putting the blowtorches out before she dropped them and hopped off the table; she found a fire extinguisher somewhere, almost as big as she herself was, and climbed back up onto the table with it, with some troubles, Erin watching and wondering too late if she should have offered her help.

By the time the idea came to her though, Holtzmann had made it to the burning towels, and aimed the fire extinguisher at them; and when she pulled the trigger, the spray not only put out the flames, but came out with enough force to throw her backwards, actually making her roll a few times before she reached the edge of the table and fell off.

“Oh my God!” Erin cried out, dropping the papers she had been holding and rushing to where Holtzmann was sitting up on the floor and making a face, “are you okay?!”

“Oka”, Holtzmann said, raising a thumb for emphasis; her goggles had come askew when she had been thrown off the table, and she straightened them before she grinned at Erin, the physicist finding herself smiling back without a moment’s hesitation.

Still she took the extinguisher from her, just to be on the safe side, and made sure that the fire truly was out; and just when she had finished that, a young man poked his head into the lab, then smiled at her as he approached her, Holtzmann watching him curiously.

“Hi”, he said, Erin looking him over, quite impressed by his physique, “I’m Kevin. Abby?”

“Um, no”, Erin gave back, glancing around trying to spot Abby, “just a second… Holtz? Can you go get Abby?”

“Si!” Holtzmann said, then waddled off, Kevin watching her go with mild interest, reacting remarkably calm to her unusual appearance; it didn’t take long for the engineer to find Abby, and they returned together, Abby holding a bunch of flyers she had been working on, smiling when she saw Kevin.

“Kevin, hi”, she said while Holtzmann waddled back to Erin’s side, the physicist wondering if she just wanted to be close to her or if she was intimidated by the man’s sheer size and bulk, so much smaller in comparison, “I’m Abby, we talked on the phone. Shall we sit down and have a talk?”

“Sure”, Kevin gave back, and they moved to the nearest free table, Abby sitting in the middle with Erin to her left and Holtzmann to her right; the chair wasn’t very high, so all which was visible of the engineer was the top of her head and her eyes, but Kevin didn’t seem to mind, smiling brightly at the three.

They quickly learned that smiling prettily was his biggest skill, as he was not too bright; Abby revealed though that no one else had called about the job after they had sent him a few feet away to discuss hiring him, Holtzmann barely listening though, clearly fascinated by the man while he, in turn was fascinated with the aquarium at the other end of the room.

The engineer snickered to herself when Kevin commented on aquariums being submarines for fish; since no one else had applied for the position as secretary and receptionist though, they ended up hiring him despite his lack in the mental department, and right after he had left, a woman sitting at the entrance caught Abby’s eye.

“Um, excuse me, Ma’am”, she said, making Erin and Holtz look at her as well, “if you’re waiting for take-out, please do so downstairs?”

“Oh I thought this is your waiting room”, the woman gave back, putting down the magazine she had been reading, “you’re the ladies who made that video about the ghost at the mansion right? I’m Patty Tolan, I work at the MTA and I… got chased by a ghost?”

* * *

Erin wondered how Holtzmann had actually built the prototype, seeing that it was easily three times her actual size; she was sitting on it, like some sort of yellow, tic-tac shaped captain, crowing happily as Abby and Erin pushed the trolley the gadget had been placed on, Erin regretting her layers of tweed as the effort was making her sweat.

Erin found herself wondering how much Holtzmann actually weighed in this strange form, and if it would be rude to ask her to hop off and walk; and she wondered why Patty had barely batted an eye at the yellow creature, after all, she herself almost had screamed when she had seen her for the first time, and Patty barely had given her more than a second glance.

“There was this creepy guy”, Patty was saying, distracting her from her thoughts, “talking about a cataclysm or whatever, before he snuck onto the subway tracks. I tried to follow him and stop him, but instead of finding him, I saw a weird sparky thing and then the ghost.”

“Parky ting?” Holtzmann repeated, and Abby didn’t need to translate that; Patty shrugged and let Holtzmann know she didn’t know what it had been, once more so unperturbed by the unusual sight that Erin found herself wondering if Patty was just very jaded by her job or if she had been the one to overreact when she had seen Holtzmann for the first time.

“Abby Erin!” Holtzmann’s squeaky voice distracted her from those thoughts, “looka, looka!” She pointed straight ahead excitedly, and Erin felt her heart speed up when she saw the familiar blue glow up ahead; and a moment later, the ghost came floating around the corner, a man who apparently had died on death row, still with the cap from the electrical chair on his head and the striped prison suit on his ghostly body.

As if he wasn’t looking creepy enough yet, he let out a roar, lightning crackling around him; Holtzmann was hectically moving to the back of the complicated contraption, grunting adorably as she grabbed a part of it which looked like a sort of gun, then gestured at Erin, the physicist feeling her heart beat even faster when she took it.

“Aim”, Holtzmann instructed, frowning as she struggled to give instructions with her limited speech, “stream. Hidod booyah.”

At least, to her relief, Erin seemed to get the gist of what she had been trying to say, looking nervous, but nodding; she asked why she was operating the untested nuclear laser, making Holtzmann shrug and tug at her arm before she said “masism ba”, Erin giving her a confused look in response.

“You have the longest arms”, Abby helpfully distracted, while Holtzmann climbed up onto the contraption again and grabbed what looked like a collar, attached to it with a long, thick cable, Erin feeling even more nervous when the engineer then tucked at her arm to get her closer, putting the collar around her neck once she could reach far enough.

“Groun-ding”, Holtzmann said, pronouncing it carefully, “no shh cawahs. Holtzy beedo Erin nibyep!”

“A bit of grounding so you don’t die immediately”, Abby translated while the ghost kept floating closer, “when she says fire, or beedo in her case, you pull the trigger!”

“Okay”, Erin said with an audible tremble in her voice, her grip on the laser tightening; the ghost kept floating closer, getting too close for comfort, and finally, just when she started to wonder if she somehow had missed Holtzmann giving the order, the engineer cried “beedo!”, and she pulled the trigger, a proton stream blasting from the weapon – only to curve downwards after just a foot or two, not even getting close to the ghost.

“Ah whompa”, Holtzmann commented, quickly moving to the keyboard she had built into the machine; she typed for a few moments, then cried the command to fire again, and Erin did so, the stream much stronger this time, wrapping around the ghost.

He roared in response, and lunged forward, prompting Erin to let out a startled little yelp; she tried to move back, and somehow lost her footing, her high heels not quite ideal for the subway tunnels, feeling Abby grab her and steady her though before she could fall.

“Zipo zipo!” Holtzmann yelled, grabbing Patty’s arm with one hand and gesturing towards the platform with the other; getting what she wanted, Patty grabbed the contraption and started pushing it back to the platform while Abby dragged Erin along, a train now approaching, to make the whole situation even more stressful.

“Hurry!” Erin cried out while Patty panted out that this was an express train and that it wouldn’t stop; Holtzmann was bouncing around nervously on top of the machine, then hopped off and onto the platform once they were close enough, the train honking and the ghost roaring, creating a cacophony of sounds.

And just when Abby and Erin made it to the edge of the platform, Holtzmann realized the machine stood right on the tracks, and that Erin was connected to it by the collar still around her neck.

She let out an unarticulated yelp and hopped over to the physicist, tearing the collar off with a mighty yank and tossing it onto the tracks; realizing what was about to happen, Erin let go of the laser, as well, and not a second too soon, the train slamming at first into the ghost, then into the machine, slime raining down on the four of them, the ghost for the moment gone, leaving them standing there panting, dishevelled and covered in slime, but still Abby, Erin and Holtzmann felt excited and good, now that they knew how close they had been to capturing a ghost.


	5. Chapter 5

A while later, the three of them were back at the lab, and Holtzmann was poking at the “weird sparky thing” they had collected once the shock about nearly getting hit by a train had faded; the engineer was sitting up on the workbench, the lab above the restaurant not quite fitted to her size yet, looking up from her work when Erin came over to see if she had found anything out already.

“Hey”, she said, smiling at the engineer, quite used by now to her weird appearance, “how’s it going?”

Holtzmann shrugged, then let her screwdriver drop down onto the workbench and huffed, signalling she wasn’t making much progress; feeling bad at her obvious frustration, Erin moved closer to her, putting one hand on her back after a moment of hesitation, telling herself she would have done so if Holtzmann had been a regular human and that her odd appearance shouldn’t stop her from giving her comfort.

“That thing is burned beyond recognition”, she said, taking a closer look at the device and grimacing, “honestly, I’d be surprised if you could make anything from it. If anyone could, actually, this is just a mess of wires and metal.”

“Chro. Me. Umm”, Holtzmann said in response, again with that careful flow speech she had also used when she had told Erin about being a nuclear engineer, “All. Loy.”

“It’s a chromium alloy?” Erin repeated, just to make sure; Holtzmann nodded, then sat down heavily and stared at the device in dismay, Erin quickly figuring out that so far, this was all Holtzmann had been able to figure out.

“You’ll figure it out I’m sure”, she said, eager to make her feel better, not liking the way the corners of Holtzmann’s mouth had turned down, “come on, you built the machine we used to trap the ghost, and that was a brilliant piece of equipment. If anyone can do it, it’s you.”

She rubbed the yellow engineer’s back without thinking, her hand moving from the overall and to bare skin; and she was amazed at how said skin felt against her palm, hotter than human skin and oddly soft and fluffy, almost as if she was running her hand over a peach.

“Tank yu”, Holtzmann said, distracting her from these thoughts, and giving her a bright grin, her upset state apparently forgotten; Erin smiled back and told her there was nothing she had to thank her for, the engineer’s smile widening in response.

“Well, I’ll let you get back to work”, Erin said, feeling awkward when she realized her hand was still on Holtzmann’s back and pulling away, making her look dismayed for a moment or two, “maybe I should make sure Kevin doesn’t kill himself trying to use the coffee machine.”

“Pfahaha!” Holtzmann let out a burst of laughter, and after a moment, Erin giggled, as well; her chest felt oddly warm when she turned away from the workbench and from Holtzmann and went to where Abby was teaching Kevin how to use the coffee machine, with endless patience the physicist admired quite a bit.

Movement from the door distracted her, and she was surprised to find the lady from the subway entering the lab; Patty, her name had been, Erin remembered after a moment, smiling politely at her as she asked if she could help her.

“I want to join your club”, Patty replied, smiling brightly while Erin could only blink, not having expected that at all; she stammered something about how this was a scientific research lab, then looked to Abby for help, glad when the researcher noticed her pleading look and came over, Holtzmann hopping off the workbench and waddling closer, too, ending up standing next to Erin and looking up at tall Patty with a look of awe on her round face.

“Okay, I don’t know what exactly you are”, Patty told her, making her huff in indignation, “but you’re adorable, I just want to pick you up and squeeze you. Anyway! I know you guys are scientists – is the little yellow one, too? – and you know all that science stuff, but I know New York. And! I can get us a car! Patty comes with benefits.”

“Vroom vroom”, Holtzmann said emphatically, apparently liking the idea of a car; and Erin had to admit that a car would be a good thing to have, still telling Patty to wait for a moment though so they could consult.

“Four people on a team would be better than three”, she reasoned, liking the idea, having warmed up to Patty quickly, “and if we ever have to split up, it’d be safer to do it with two people on each team than one person having to go alone.”

“Vroom vroom!” Holtzmann said again, with much more enthusiasm than the first time; and so, it was decided that Patty would join them, to her obvious joy, promising that she’d go and get them that car immediately.

It didn’t even take Patty an hour to come back, and when she did, Abby and Erin weren’t quite sure what to think, seeing how she pulled up to the restaurant in an actual hearse; in stark contrast to their dismay, Holtzmann was overjoyed, babbling nonsensically as she rushed from the door over to the car, as fast as her short legs and tiny feet could carry her.

“Vroom vroom!” she shouted, making Patty laugh, even though she did look a bit worried when Holtzmann climbed up onto the hood, and told her to not scratch the car; Holtzmann just beamed at her in response, then continued on to the roof, Erin unable to hold back a smile at the engineer’s boundless joy.

“Apparently Holtzmann likes it, hearse or not”, Abby commented, “but Patty, you didn’t tell us it would be a hearse.”

“Well my uncle runs a funeral parlour, not a rent-a-car”, Patty pointed out, “and it’s a Cadillac! With room for all the bigass equipment you guys dragged around at the subway.”

“Haga pik sirgyp”, Holtzmann told her, prompting her to look confused; she looked to Erin, the physicist only able to shrug, Abby being the one to translate, telling them that Holtzmann had said she would make it smaller.

“Mas rehum”, Holtzmann added, Abby translating again and telling them it mean “more mobile”; Erin smiled and nodded, taking note of how Holtzmann looked quite dejected for a moment, the corners of her mouth turning down – before she seemed to remember she was sitting on an actual hearse and perked up again, happily crawling all over it and babbling to herself, Erin watching her with a small smile on her face, unable to forget though the sadness she had seen for a moment in those comically large eyes.


	6. Chapter 6

After it had been settled that the hearse would be used, Erin declared that she would go and get late lunch for all of them; she enlisted Kevin to help her carry the pizzas Abby and Patty wanted, Holtzmann nowhere to be found, Abby letting her know that she was already in the garage and working on the car.

Once Erin had found out what Holtzmann liked to eat, she left with Kevin to get food for them all; she tried to make small talk with him on the way, but wasn’t very successful, Kevin not quite able to follow her, and while she still found him nice to look at, his attractiveness decreased further every time he opened his mouth.

So, they walked back with the food mostly in silence, but at least, said silence wasn’t awkward; upon their return to the restaurant, Abby called out for Holtzmann that lunch had arrived, the engineer bouncing into the room moments later, her little coveralls covered in stains from both oil and paint, some smudges even on her yellow skin.

“Abby said you eat pizza”, Erin said Abby and Patty prepared plates and cups for said pizza and the drinks Erin and Kevin had brought, “but that you prefer bananas, so I got you this.”

She pulled a bunch of bananas from her bag, and Holtzmann’s eyes went even bigger behind the goggles, her mouth slowly opening as she let out an “oooh” sound; smiling, Erin held the fruit out to her, and with a hearty cry of “BANANA!” Holtzmann grabbed them, peeling and eating one of them with record speed, Patty giggling at the sight. 

“She’ll be your friend forever now”, she told Erin, who smiled and blushed a bit; Holtzmann gave her a bright, confirming grin, then munched down another banana, the speed with which she did so making Erin and Patty raise an eyebrow.

“Slow down”, Abby advised, clearly not seeing this for the first time, “you know what will happen if you keep eating like that.”

“Banana”, Holtzmann replied, already peeling the third banana; and by the time the other three had sat down and had started to eat, she was already on the last banana, munching it down as fast as the other ones, then letting out a burp so loud it made all three women jump.

“Holtzy”, Abby scolded, shaking her head; Holtzmann just fell over backwards in response, and Erin gasped in shock, Abby shaking her head again as she told her not to worry.

“She does that”, she then said, with a strict look at the engineer, “every time. Give her half an hour or so and she’ll be back to normal.”

“Still, poor her”, Erin showed sympathy, Holtzmann raising her head a bit to give her a pitiful look before she let it drop back down and groaned, “next time I’ll ration the bananas, this can’t be healthy.”

“Whaaa”, Holtzmann let out, sitting up so fast it nearly gave Erin whiplash just from seeing it; Abby laughed while Erin looked startled, shrugging at the look of dismay Holtzmann shot her.

“I mean it”, she then said, trying hard to not be swayed when Holtzmann pouted adorably, “it’s for your own good.”

“Man, she’s adorable”, Patty said, earning a toothy grin from the engineer, “but, not to be rude, how did she end up like that? I’ve seen a lot of crazy shit working at the MTA, but this has to be one of my highlights.”

“Boma poof”, Holtzmann said solemnly, making a face; Abby translated again, telling them it had been a lab incident, and that ever since then, the engineer’s mentor, one Doctor Gorin, had been trying every possible thing she could think of to get Holtzmann back to normal.

“So far, nothing has worked”, Abby added with a sigh, Holtzmann making a face again, “but she’s still researching, as far as I know. She just drops by every now and then when she has a new idea.”

“Wow”, Erin let out, eying Holtzmann again; so far, she hadn’t thought much about how a perfectly normal human being could end up looking like this, and she didn’t want to imagine what exactly had happened at that lab to change Holtzmann like this, but it was good to hear that her mentor was still trying to help.

“I’m sure she’ll find a way”, she said out loud, eager to make Holtzmann feel better, not liking the sad look on the engineer’s face; and in response, Holtzmann climbed up onto her lap and curled up there, Abby snickering at the “oh!” Erin let out.

“That means she likes you”, Abby helpfully said, then Patty asked how they had ended up hunting ghosts, and as Erin told her about her creepy childhood ghost, Holtzmann remained on her lap, letting out noises of sympathy every now and then, but even as she did so, Erin could tell that Holtzmann was more bothered by her state then she so far had allowed herself to show.

* * *

 

A while after they had finished eating, Erin went to the garage, to see how work on their car was processing; already before she entered, she could hear music playing, and the clangs of metal on metal as Holtzmann worked, smiling as she entered the garage and found the engineer on the hearse’s roof, busy with what looked like a rather complicated contraption.

“Hey”, she said, Holtzmann giving her an enthusiastic wave, “wow, you got so much done already, I’m impressed, even though I don’t know what it is. Good job Holtzmann.”

“Tank yu”, Holtzmann said proudly, then looked as if she wanted to add more, closing her mouth again though after a moment, suddenly looking dejected again, and even though she usually wasn’t good at reading that sort of clues, Erin figured it out this time, and her heart flew out to the little yellow being.

“You want to tell me”, she softly said, only feeling worse when large, sad eyes met hers, “but you know I won’t understand. Right? And Abby’s not here to translate.”

Holtzmann mumbled “si”, sounding so unlike her regular happy self that it nearly made Erin cry; and for the first time since she had met Holtzmann, she fully realized how hard this had to be, stuck in a body like this small yellow one, with her language so oddly limited.

She wondered if only thinking about this now made her an awful, egoistical person, then told herself that she should not worry about this now; Holtzmann still looked sad, and all Erin wanted was to make her feel better, uncertain what she could do though.

“Um”, she let out, taking a step closer to the vehicle, “I’ve never been good with words, so I don’t know what I can say to make this better. But… I can give you a hug?”

She opened her arms, and Holtzmann nodded at once, then practically hopped off the car and into Erin’s waiting arms; she was heavier than the physicist had expected, but still she caught her and held her close, feeling the engineer cling to her, full of sympathy again as she held her and tried to give her some comfort.


	7. Chapter 7

Quite a while later, Holtzmann apparently had forgotten her moment of sadness, since she was crawling all over the hearse again, happily babbling to herself; and Erin found herself not quite willing to leave her alone at the garage, and had sat down on the nearest workbench, legs swinging as she watched Holtzmann work, a small smile on her face.

It had been quite a while, Erin realized, that she had felt so relaxed; at Columbia, just sitting around and perhaps chatting with others was seen as unproductive and frowned upon, and so, Erin had avoided it, even though she had taken note of how it had been considered “chatting and gossiping” when women had done it and “networking” when it had been men who’d been standing around talking, and despite how much this had annoyed her.

Now, even though she wasn’t really doing anything, she didn’t feel as if she was doing something wrong, and Holtzmann clearly enjoyed having her there, grinning widely at her every now and then as she worked; Erin smiled back at her each time, still feeling sympathetic for the engineer’s situation, but telling herself that bringing it up again might only make Holtzmann feel bad again, and thus keeping her thoughts about it to herself.

She watched how Holtzmann crawled to the trunk, then dropped down to the floor to open it; a cloud of dust greeted her as she pushed the lid up, and she let out an adorable _tiu-pew!_ sound as she sneezed, Erin laughing before she could stop herself.

“Bless you”, she then said, still giggling; clearly, Holtzmann wasn’t offended by her laughter though, beaming at her and saying “tank yu” before she vanished in the trunk, only her little feet poking out.

To Erin’s amusement, said feet started moving left and right as Holtzmann did something in the trunk, getting done after a bit and dropping back out, ending up falling on her butt as the trunk was somewhat high for someone her size; she shrugged it off at Erin’s concerned look, and came to her feet again, looking thoughtful and letting out a “hmmm” sound as she studied the trunk.

“Are you sure I can’t do anything to help?” Erin wanted to know, feeling bad again just watching her work; Holtzmann shook her head though, crawling up onto the roof of the hearse again, and so, Erin just kept watching, and commented every now and then, allowing herself to relax again as she realized that Holtzmann truly didn’t need any help and knew exactly what she was doing, and that it was okay to just relax and do nothing every now and then.

* * *

 Erin had spent time in the garage with Holtzmann until the engineer had dragged cans of paint to the hearse, having left then after explaining that the fumes gave her a headache; Holtzmann had waved enthusiastically as she had left, and since then, she had been sitting at her desk, checking some equations Abby had presented to her, apparently for their gear, even though she couldn’t quite imagine how said gear would look when done.

She figured though that Abby and Holtzmann knew what they were doing, and focused on the numbers instead of the design; and she got quite lost in her work, barely registering it when Abby and Patty let her know they’d go home and that they’d see Holtzmann and her in the next day.

Kevin called out his goodbye, too, Erin distractedly waving; every now and then, she heard clangs from the garage, the only background sound as she worked, only realizing how late it was getting when she realized she was having trouble with seeing the numbers thanks to the fading light, grimacing as she checked her watch and saw that it was close to seven.

It wasn’t the first time she got lost in her work like this, often having experienced the same when she had been at Columbia; putting down the papers, she rubbed her eyes, suddenly realizing how tired she had been – it had been a long day after all, and the excitement of how new all of this was only had kept her going for so long, tiredness setting in now.

Getting up from her chair, Erin stretched, grimacing at the crack she heard from her back; she started to make her way to the garage, only to stop when she heard footsteps come up the stairs, Holtzmann grinning at her as she came upstairs, her little blue denim coveralls covered in paint stains and oil smears, her skin surprisingly clean though, as brightly yellow as it always was.

“Roopa aca?” Holtzmann said, then pointed at her wrist, where her watch would have been, had she been wearing one, prompting Erin to tell her the time; shaking her head, Holtzmann pointed to her wrist again, then at Erin, then to the door, a questioning look completing the pantomime, Erin feeling oddly proud when she realized what the engineer meant.

“Yeah, I kinda lost track of time”, she let the engineer know, “the others went home already though, and I thought about packing up too. Are you gonna go home…?”

“Odegie aca”, Holtzmann replied with a shrug, Erin frowning as she tried to decipher that; Holtzmann gave her another bright smile, then gestured at one of the benches nearby, hopping up on it afterwards and curling up, repeating her previous words, Erin’s eyes going wide when she realized what the engineer was trying to say.

“You can’t just stay here”, she said, shaking her head for emphasis, earning a confused look from Holtzmann as the engineer clearly didn’t see why Erin would think so, shrugging at Erin shaking her head once more.

“I don’t like the thought of you being here all alone”, the physicist said, grimacing at the idea, “why don’t you come to my place with me? You can sleep on the couch there, it should be comfortable enough.”

“Oooh”, Holtzmann let out, clearly not having expected this; Erin gave her another smile, letting out a little giggle when Holtzmann cried out “tank yu!” and jumped over to hug her leg, fighting the urge to reach down and pet her head, not wanting to make her feel like some sort of dog.

“Alright”, she said instead, while Holtzmann let go of her again and took a step back, “let’s go then. I’ll buy you some bananas on the way, too.”

“BANANA”, Holtzmann cried, making Erin laugh again; following a sudden impulse, she held her hand out to Holtzmann, the engineer taking hold of it quickly, not letting the fact that she had reach up to do so deter her, and together, the two left the firehouse, Holtzmann waddling along as fast as she could while Erin walked slower than usual, smiling to herself as she knew she had just done the right thing.


	8. Chapter 8

Even though Erin had tried to caution Holtzmann, the engineer had eaten three of the five bananas she had bought for her, apparently planning to keep two for breakfast; Erin hoped she wouldn’t get hungry during the night, not quite sure how fast her digestion worked, but figuring that she could eat toast, should she end up too hungry before morning came.

Now, after dinner had been eaten by both of them, they had gotten comfortable on the couch, watching some TV before it’d be time to go to bed; they sat side by side in comfortable silence, watching a documentary on penguins which made Holtzmann laugh adorably, Erin yawning heartily by the time it was over.

“Alright”, she then said, “I think I’ll go to bed. You can keep watching TV if you want, I’ll just ready the couch for you, okay?”

Holtzmann nodded, and Erin went to find an extra blanket and pillow; and once she had supplied Holtzmann with these items, she said good night and went to bed.

She could hear the TV for a bit longer once she had changed into her pyjama and had laid down, then the sound ended abruptly as Holtzmann apparently decided she wanted to get some sleep, too; she heard some rustling as Holtzmann got comfortable, and just a minute later, an adorable _chrr-pii… chrr-pii_ … sound reached her ears as the engineer had fallen asleep and had begun to snore.

Holding back a giggle, not wanting to wake her, Erin checked her phone once more to make sure her alarm had been set, then got comfortable and closed her eyes, quickly drifting off into sleep as well; during the rare times she’d had a man sleep at her place, their snoring usually had annoyed her, but she didn’t mind at all with Holtzmann, not bothered the slightest as she slept through the night peacefully.

* * *

In the next morning, Erin awoke not to her alarm, but to noises coming from her kitchen; for a moment, she was startled, thoughts of burglars and home invasions flashing through her mind, until she remembered that she had invited Holtzmann to sleep at her place the previous evening, figuring that the engineer was making the noise.

Curious, she checked her phone, seeing that the noise had woken her up five minutes before the alarm had; she deactivated it, then got out of bed and made her way into the kitchen, finding Holtzmann up on the counter there, the engineer busily moving back and forth as she was making toast and coffee.

“Erin!” Holtzmann crowed at the sight of the physicist, making her smile with her enthusiasm; she quickly rushed to the coffee machine, Erin quite touched when she saw that the engineer had readied a cup for her already, hopping down somehow without spilling anything and proudly presenting it to her, having to stand on the tips of her toes to do so.

“Aw, thank you”, Erin said, accepting the cup, amazement only growing when she took a sip and realized it was just the way she liked it, with a splash of milk and a tiny bit of sugar, “but you didn’t have to do that.”

Holtzmann just shrugged and grinned happily at her, then climbed back up on the counter with surprising speed, just in time to take out the toasts before they could burn; she let them drop on the plate she had readied, then hopped off again and carried it over to the table, the bananas she still had left waiting there for her.

While Erin put butter and jam onto her toast, Holtzmann practically inhaled the bananas, with her usual speed; she clearly didn’t mind waiting for Erin to get done though, sitting and watching her eat, still making Erin feel bad though, and prompting her to get done faster than usual.

Once they both had finished, Erin let Holtzmann shower first, glad that she had a shower / bathtub combo where the faucet was low enough for the engineer to reach; and after they both had finished their morning bathroom routine, they headed out to their lab, Erin taking note of the way people looked at Holtzmann, but trying her best to ignore it, figuring that if it didn’t bother Holtzmann, it shouldn’t bother her, either.

Still, she was glad when they arrived at the restaurant and were away from all too curious eyes; Abby was already there, looking surprised at Erin and Holtzmann entering together, then curious, Erin shrugging at the look the researcher was giving them both.

“Holtz stayed with me”, she then said, Abby raising an eyebrow, “I didn’t want her to spend the night here all on her own.”

“Vroom vroom!” Holtzmann cried out before Abby could say something, then waddled off to the garage; and the moment she was out of earshot, Abby raised an eyebrow again, Erin giving her a confused look in response, not quite sure what to think at what the researcher told her next.

“I’ve offered to let her stay at my place a dozen times”, Abby let her know, “and she always said no. So I’m kinda surprised she went with you, but glad, too, because it’s better that she sleeps on your couch than here on one of the benches.”

“Huh”, Erin let out, not sure what else she could say; Abby smirked, then let her know that Holtzmann really had to like her, and for some reason, Erin found herself blushing at this, shrugging, still not knowing what to say.

“Anyway”, Abby then changed the topic, “now that we got a proper car, we should think about smaller equipment. Holtzmann has a few ideas already, and so do I, want to check the math with me?”

“Sure”, Erin gave back, curious about what Abby had come up with; Abby gave her a bright smile, then they made their way to her desk together while they could hear Holtzmann working on the car from the garage, both of them wondering what exactly she was doing there, but figuring they would find out soon enough, and that until then, they’d just trust the engineer to do a good job and let her show them what she had come up with when she was ready.


	9. Chapter 9

During the rest of the day and most of the next one, Holtzmann not only worked on the car, but also built more equipment for them to use on busts, with the numbers and calculations Erin and Abby provided for her; she kept them all from seeing what she was working on until she was finished though, Abby letting them know after a string of babble from the engineer that Holtz was superstitious about this and thought it would bring bad luck to see anyone before it got done.

Erin was more than curious about what Holtzmann was building, but accepted the engineer’s wishes to not show anyone until she had gotten done; and so, they all stayed away from her workbenches, until she came waddling to Abby’s one desk one day and tucked at her leg, then let out a string of her characteristic babbling, Abby nodding along.

“She said to meet her outside in the alley in ten minutes”, she then translated, while Holtzmann walked away again, as fast as her short legs could carry her, “she’s got a bunch of things she wants to show us.”

“How do you understand her so well”, Patty wanted to know, asking the question Erin had been wondering about ever since she had met Holtzmann, “I mean, I know a few of her words by now, but I couldn’t get any of that.”

“It’s a matter of practice”, Abby replied, shrugging, “we had our troubles when we started working together, but once you’ve spent a bit of time around her, you’ll pick up more, too, I’m sure. Erin’s already learning.”

“A bit, yeah”, Erin confirmed, “but I’m nowhere near as good as Abby is, especially not when Holtz gets excited and talks fast.”

“Matter of practice”, Abby repeated, with another shrug; Erin and Patty both smiled and nodded, then busied themselves with their own work, until it was time to meet Holtzmann outside in the alley.

Curious, Erin was the first to step outside, finding Holtzmann standing on two milk crates she had stacked on top of each other, at a haphazardly put together table; and on the table, a bunch of items laid, weapons and other gadgets, Erin giving them a curious look as she walked to where the engineer was standing and grinning at them.

“Maxguv”, Holtzmann said, with a little bow, “da rebfat dia. Orakop!”

“Welcome to testing day”, Abby translated, “weapons. I hope those are for busting ghosts, Holtzy.”

“Si!” Holtzmann said with an enthusiastic nod, then grinned brightly at Erin, “Erin! Erin, to prima.”

Figuring that she had asked her to step up first, Erin did so, and Holtzmann gestured at the table with grand flourish; Erin gave her a brief look, when reached for what looked like a shotgun, only to have Holtzmann yell “NO” the moment her fingers touched it, prompting her to flinch back in shock.

“Non boca”, Holtzmann said, shaking her head for emphasis, then reaching into the pocket of her little coveralls and pulling out a Swiss Army Knife, “ree pen… ba!”

“She says it’s not ready yet”, Abby translated as Erin accepted the knife, “until then, she wants you to have this.”

“Oms mim ale”, Holtzmann solemnly said, gesturing at the knife, “para tu.”

“Thank you”, Erin smiled, accepting the knife and taking a close look at it; she could tell at once it had been used a lot, and wondered why Holtzmann would give her this, making a mental note to ask her later as she tucked it into her pocket, making sure it couldn’t fall out.

Holtzmann grinned at her, then grabbed an egg-shaped object and held it out to her; Abby translated the short explanation that this was a grenade and would cause a medium poof, only dangerous to ghosts, but apparently, it was dangerous to trash, too, as it blew up the trashcan and sent bits and pieces of junk fluttering through the alley.

Holtzmann clearly had a lot of fun at the sight, laughing so hard she nearly fell off her milk crates; Erin and Abby, who had caught the brunt of the flying trash, were less amused, but Erin found it difficult to be mad at Holtzmann, seeing the engineer’s unbridled joy, even at this slight misfortune.

“Proton packa”, Holtzmann said next, pointing out the three identically sized proton packs and the fourth, much smaller one, built to her size; it looked so cute that Erin nearly squealed, and she had to hold back the noise again when Holtzmann grabbed the tiny pack and strapped it on, her tongue poking out in concentration as she did so.

She pointed out the target she had put up, with a cartoon-ish bedsheet ghost on it, then showed the other three how to pull the proton wand from the pack and how to fire, a bright proton stream shooting from the barrel when she pushed the trigger – and apparently with more kickback than she had anticipated, since she got thrown backwards and rolled a few feet before she managed to take her finger off the trigger.

“Holtzy!” Erin, Abby and Patty cried out in perfect unison, running over to where Holtzmann had stopped her rolling and gathering around her just as she sat up; she gave them a bright grin and a thumbs up, shrugging and saying “oka” when Abby wanted to know if she was okay.

“You better fix that kickback”, Patty advised, making Holtzmann nod, “I ain’t strapping that to my back if it’s gonna toss me around like that.”

“Fixa”, Holtzmann solemnly replied, giving Erin a broad happy grin when the physicist moved to help her strap off the proton pack; it weighed much less than she had expected, but then, it was quite small, and she figured that the ones Holtzmann had made for Abby, Patty and her would be quite a bit heavier.

Curious to find out, she picked on of them up, reassuring Holtzmann she only wanted to know about the weight when the engineer gasped loudly; she held back a grimace at the weight of the pack, wondering how much it would mess up her back to carry it around, then shrugging that thought off, telling herself that it might be easier once the pack was actually on her back and the weight would be distributed evenly.

“This looks great, Holtz”, she said out loud, making Holtzmann grin happily again while she dusted off her coveralls, “I’m impressed, great job.”

“Tank yu!” Holtzmann beamed, Erin smiling back at her; and neither of them noticed the look Abby and Patty exchanged, as focused on each other as they were.


	10. Chapter 10

After the first demonstration, Holtzmann immediately had started working on reducing the kickback; and that was fortunate, they all soon realized, as just a short while after she had gotten done with that, the phone rang and Kevin, after some confusion, told them that there was a goat on the loose at the Stonebrook theatre.

They all figured he meant “ghost”, and were excited to go on a bust; Patty presented them all with some coveralls, Holtzmann delighted to see that she apparently had made one for her which looked just like the ones she had taken from the MTA and fit her just perfectly, the engineer squeaking happily as she put it on.

“Looking good”, Patty complimented her, and she let out another happy squeal – before she grabbed Abby’s hand and tugged it, signalling that she wanted her to come with her, at the same time babbling excitedly at Erin and Patty, Abby still taking a moment to translate that they should wait in front of the restaurant before she let Holtzmann drag her away, to the garage.

“I wonder what she did to the car”, Patty continued, Erin just shrugging, not wanting to give it away – she had seen a bit of what Holtzmann had done with the car, but wasn’t exactly sure what Holtzmann had done, and didn’t want to give anything away, figuring it wasn’t her place to tell.

Patty looked as if she wanted to ask for a moment how Erin apparently couldn’t know, considering the hours she had spent in the garage with Holtzmann; before she could ask though, a roaring engine came up around the corner, and then Abby drove the hearse into view, Patty’s eyes going wide.

“What have you done to my uncle’s hearse!” she cried, not just at the new white paintjob with a cartoon ghost sprayed onto the doors, but also at the sight of the equipment Holtzmann had added to the vehicle, strange looking contraptions on the roof and on the hood; Holtzmann was almost dangling out of the passenger side window, to Erin’s alarm, laughing heartily as she pumped a tiny fist.

“Fixa!” she then cried, falling back onto the seat; Patty didn’t look all too happy, but got into the back without further protest, Erin joining her there, feeling excited as Abby drove and Holtzmann happily sang to herself on the passenger seat, the adorable sound making Erin smile to herself, her heart racing in her chest though as she wondered what they might encounter at the concert and how catching the ghost there would go.

* * *

They stopped in front of the theatre with screeching tires – apparently, Erin noted, Abby’s driving style hadn’t changed much from her college days – and all hopped out of the car, rushing to the back where the proton packs had been stored; Holtzmann had hers strapped on the fastest, Erin a close second though, and once all four were equipped, they headed into the building, a man in a fancy suit already waiting for them, forming a stark contrast to the concert attendees with their long hair and band shirts.

“Are you the Ghostbusters?” he wanted to know, belatedly noticing Holtzmann and her unusual appearance, raising an eyebrow as he continued, “and what is _that_?”

“ _She_ is our engineer”, Erin said in a rather harsh tone, making him look at her again, “and yes, we are. Where’s the ghost?”

“Last time I saw it, it was backstage”, the man replied, gaze slowly wandering back to Holtzmann, the engineer reacting by poking her tongue out at him, “I saw it toss poor Fernando around and screamed, that must scared it off, I’m told I have a very disturbing scream.”

“Eh”, Holtzmann let out, shrugging, then waddled off, towards the backstage area; the man still stared after her, until Erin accidentally on purpose bumped into him as she walked past him, giving him a hard look when his eyes met hers.

Hurrying after Holtzmann, Erin slowed down so they could walk side by side; Holtzmann looked up at her and smiled brightly, clearly not bothered by the man’s comment, stopping at the backstage area though as she waited for Abby and Patty to catch up.

“Let’s split up and find this ghost”, Abby suggested, “we all got our walkie talkies, so once one of us finds it, she calls for the others and we bust it. Okay?”

“Oka”, Holtzmann was the first to confirm, pulling her small proton wand from the pack; the others followed suit, and then split up, Erin feeling nervous as she snuck through the theatre’s backstage area, glancing this way and that, searching for the ghost.

Instead of the ghost, she found Holtzmann, standing up on a shelf which held several wigs and hats; the engineer had put on a bright purple wig and a large, gaudy hat, laughing gleefully when Erin flinched visibly at the unexpected sight, so hard that she ended up falling off the shelf and landed on the floor.

“Holtzmann”, Erin scolded, shaking her head, unable to keep a small smile off her face though while Holtzmann removed the hat and the wig, “this is serious!”

“Macki”, Holtzmann solemnly agreed, “pelo! Wig yee wyn.”

She laughed again as she held up the wig, and Erin figured she was talking about these items; her smile widened and she shook her head, then they kept moving, Holtzmann now moving along behind her, still giggling to herself every now and then.

Apart from the engineer’s quiet giggles, Erin heard nothing out of the ordinary though; from the stage, she could hear the band playing, not quite her kind of music, and the audience shouting, but those shouts sounded quite cheerful and not frightened.

As if to mock her worries that they might not find the ghost, her radio crackled to life, Abby asking her to come find her in one of the dressing rooms; Erin told her Holtzmann and she were on their way, then hurried there, Holtzmann as fast as she could with her short legs, noticeably out of breath by the time they found Abby.

“Look”, the researcher said, pointing out the device she had found, exactly like the one they had found at the subway, “seems like Patty’s creepy friend has been keeping busy.”

Erin had a moment to nod, then the door flew open again and Patty came bursting into the room; she slammed the door shut again and pressed her back against it, eyes wide and scared, but before she could explain what was going on, an oddly stiff foot kicked out a sizeable chunk of wood from the lower part of the door, Patty yelping as she rushed to the side of the other three.

A few massive hits followed the kick, and the door didn’t hold up for long, breaking down quickly; and all four gasped when an all too alive mannequin stepped inside, the featureless face turning this way and that, as if it was searching for them.

“Bello!” Holtzmann said cheerfully, waving; the doll jerked into her direction in response, and Erin snapped out of her brief fright-induced stupor as determination filled her.

“There’s a ghost in there”, she said out loud what everyone else was thinking, “and I want it! Let’s light it up, ladies!”

“HA!” Holtzmann cried as she aimed her proton wand, and a moment later, all four of them fired, the proton streams which shot from the weapons wrapping around the mannequin and making it thrash as if in pain, even though technically, there was no way it could feel any hurt.

All at once, it stopped moving, and shuddered visibly – before it exploded into a myriad of parts, the Ghostbusters ducking to avoid being hit by any of them, a ghost which looked frighteningly like a sort of demon rising from the sad remains of the mannequin and roaring before it flapped large wings and vanished through the ceiling.

“Come on, quick!” Erin cried, thankfully remembering to take her finger off the trigger, “we can’t let it get away!”

She already got moving as she spoke, hurrying out of the room; Abby told her that she loved her fire, and Holtzmann cried “beedo!” as if in confirmation, the four chasing after the ghost, Erin barely avoiding another glob of slime which dripped from the ceiling, only to have it land on Holtzmann’s head.

“Eh”, the engineer let out again, not caring much; Erin gave her a brief sympathetic look, then focused on the chase again, and a short while later, they had followed the ghost to the concert hall, the audience cheering as it flew over them, apparently thinking it was some sort of special effect.

Not even when the ghost slammed into the singer and threw him backwards into the wall of speakers they seemed to get scared, but only cheered louder; and they kept cheering as the Ghostbusters got up on stage and started firing, trying to catch the ghost, and witnessing the manager’s disturbing scream when they blasted off bits and pieces of the decoration instead.

“This is art deco!” he screamed, Holtzmann just poking her tongue out at him again; afterwards, they all ignored him, especially when the ghost ended up sitting on Patty, but shortly after that frightening moment, they managed to capture the ghost, and to wrangle it into the trap Holtzmann had built.

“…did we do it?” Erin asked once the trap had snapped shut and smoke rose from it, “did we trap a ghost?”

Holtzmann waddled over to the trap in response and picked it up, then raised it as high as she could as she said “si!”; Erin let out a gleeful shout in response – before she grabbed Holtzmann, picked her up and spun her around, the engineer laughing happily while the other Ghostbusters and the audience cheered, chanting their name as they celebrated their first successfully trapped ghost.


	11. Chapter 11

“Come on you guys”, Erin encouraged once they had made it back to the restaurant and Abby had stopped her from smooching the trap yet again, pointing out that it was radioactive and that kissing it couldn’t be healthy, “we gotta celebrate! We caught a ghost!”

She cranked up the volume of the music and, for once not caring that others could see, got into the groove, smiling happily to herself as she danced; she never had considered herself a good dancer, and had been embarrassed whenever she had done so in front of others, but just this once, she didn’t care, laughing happily when Holtzmann moved to join her.

Despite her short legs and arms, Holtzmann looked surprisingly cute when she danced, a wide smile on her face; after a few moments of dancing side by side, Erin bent down and swept Holtzmann up, making her laugh too, her eyes sparkling behind her goggles.

“This is adorable”, Patty commented from where she was standing at one of the workbenches with Abby, phone already out, “I have to take a picture of this. Just keep going you guys, don’t mind me.”

If it had been anyone else, on any other day, Erin would have been embarrassed and would have stopped; she was still on a high of success after the bust though, and didn’t mind Abby and Patty watching or even taking pictures, laughing again as she spun Holtzmann in a circle, the engineer squealing in joy, raising her tiny fists high.

“So cute”, Patty gushed, taking a few more photos for good measure; and just as she put her phone away again, Kevin interrupted the little dance party, letting them know that they had a guest, Erin’s good mood vanishing fairly quickly when he said a Marten Christ was there to see them.

“Marten who?” Patty wanted to know, Erin setting her jaw as she responded and told Patty that it was Martin Heist, a well-known debunker of the paranormal, and apparently, he had decided it was time to debunk them now.

“Tell him we’re not having visitors right now”, Abby instructed Kevin, but apparently, Heist had gotten tired of waiting as he appeared in the doorway a moment later, looking around, the way he took in their lab and coveralls and Holtzmann’s appearance making Erin grit her teeth again.

“Well, well, well”, he said, not bothering to hide his contempt, “you are the famed Ghostbusters, then? You’re already all over the web. I take it this is your… lab? And this little yellow thing is your mascot?”

“Holtzmann is our engineer”, Erin replied, putting said engineer down a moment later as she realized that holding her up like this might not make them look very professional, “so she’s much more than our mascot. And I’m sorry to tell you, but we do not have time for you now, we are working on very important research.”

“Looked more like a dance party to me”, Heist commented, unimpressed by the glare Erin sent his way, “but either way, I suppose research for something like ghosts can have a bit of a party quality. You do claim you caught a ghost, so you must be aware that people will be sceptical.”

“Oh, we are aware of that”, Abby said, staring at him in disbelief when he walked closer to the workbench as if he owned the place and poked the trap with his cane, “and we will release a paper with all the information the sceptical people might want soon. Until then, as Erin said, I’m sorry, but we don’t have time for you.”

“Hmmm”, Heist let out, poking the trap again; clearly, Holtzmann didn’t like to see him do that, since she waddled over to him and tucked his pant leg, glaring when he looked down at her.

“No poka!” Holtzmann snapped, crossing her arms over her chest at the way he raised an eyebrow at her and defiantly holding his gaze; he shook his head, clearly not willing to listen to her, and poked the trap again, only to yelp when Holtzmann reacted by punching his calf with as much force as she could put into her tiny fist.

“Stoppa!” she said, while he took a step back, more from surprise than actual pain, “no poka!”

“I’m surprised you can talk”, he replied, making her huff, “looking like that. What are you, anyway?”

“I told you, she’s our engineer”, Erin snapped, having enough of the man, “now stop being a nuisance and leave.”

“How impolite”, Heist observed, shaking his head, “what, you afraid I’ll open your little trap here and we see that you captured nothing at all? That I’ll expose you as frauds?”

He poked the trap again, and somehow, this time managed to hit the button Holtzmann had built into the side with the tip of his cane, and the trap snapped open, Erin gasping while Holtzmann scrambled away from him and hurried for her proton pack, Heist unimpressed by these reactions, not even looking worried when Abby and Patty made grabs for their gear, too.

“Well?” he said, bending over the trap, a nasty smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth, “Caspar? You in—”

The ghost burst out of the trap with a massive roar, and Heist had a second to let out a yelp and for his eyes to widen – then the apparition slammed into him as it rushed for the window and dragged him along, the Ghostbusters crying out in shock as his body shattered the glass and then vanished from view as he fell out the window.

“…oh my God”, Erin was the one to break the shocked silence which had formed after the man’s fall, “do you guys think he’s…?”

“I don’t know”, Abby replied, pale, while Holtzmann clung to Erin’s leg, eyes wide behind her goggles, “but we better go and check? And call an ambulance if he needs one?”

“Man”, Patty said, shaking her head, as they hurried to the exit together, Holtzmann pouting at having to let go of Erin’s leg so she could walk, “why’d he have to go open that trap? What a dumb thing to do.”

“He probably didn’t mean to”, Erin pointed out as they hurried down the stairs, “I don’t think he guessed what that button did. Let’s just he’s alright.”

Sirens came up in the distance, as if to answer her and to mock her, and her blood ran cold as she realized that he most certainly was not alright… and what the consequences for the four of them might be, if the police didn’t believe them that a ghost had thrown the man out the window and that it hadn’t been the four of them who had done the deed.

* * *

As it turned out, Martin Heist was very far from alright, was in fact dead, and the police already had been called by the time the Ghostbusters found his body; the patrol car arrived a short while later, while they were still trying to figure out what to do, and the policeman started questioning them, demanding to know who had thrown the man out the window.

“A ghost”, Abby said, Holtzmann nodding enthusiastically, the policeman giving her an odd look before he apparently dismissed her as some sort of New York thing and looked at Abby again.

“A ghost”, he repeated, Abby nodding as well, prompting Patty and Erin to do the same; clearly, he didn’t believe them, since he asked again, sterner this time, only to be interrupted by sleek black cars pulling up to the scene, men in equally black suits getting out of them and approaching the little group.

The men claimed that they were taking over and that they were in charge now, and told the Ghostbusters that they weren’t in trouble once the policeman was gone; Erin found that hard to believe though as she was ushered into one of the cars, along with Holtzmann, Abby and Patty taking the other one, unable to stop wondering what they had gotten themselves into now.


	12. Chapter 12

“Welcome, Ladies, welcome”, the mayor said as the four entered his office, smiling at them, but Erin couldn’t quite believe that his smile was genuine, “have a seat, please.”

He pointed out the four seats which had been readied, and the four of them sat down, the mayor watching curiously how Holtzmann climbed up on hers, then slouched down, putting her hands behind her head and getting quite comfortable, unlike her obviously nervous colleagues.

“So”, the mayor said once they all had sat down, “you’re the Ghostbusters. You’ve been making quite the ruckus, ladies.”

“We trapped a ghost”, Abby corrected him, “well, at least it was trapped until Heist let it out. And the ghost threw him out the window, not any of us.”

“I believe you”, the mayor assured her, “trust me, we’ve been having an eye on this whole thing for a while now. Which is why your involvement is coming at a very bad time.”

“You’ve been drawing a lot of attention to yourselves”, his PA added, prompting Holtzmann to go wide-eyed as she let out an adorably high-pitched “Whaaaa?”; the woman briefly glanced at her, then continued on, telling the Ghostbusters how the threat had to be kept quiet so there wouldn’t be mass panic and showing them a video to illustrate what she was talking about.

“Well, we don’t want that”, Erin said, feeling nervous again as she had no idea where this was leading, “we don’t want mass panic. But whoever is building these devices, they’re calling ghosts, and making them stronger. These ghosts can hurt people, even kill them…”

“We know that”, the mayor reassured her, with another one of his not quite genuine smiles, “and as I said, we’re on it. Which is why I need you to quit.”

“What”, Abby flatly gave back, his smile widening in response, as if that would calm her down; he shrugged, then raised his hands, shrugging once more for good measure before he replied verbally, as well.

“You can continue your theoretical work, of course”, he let them know, and even though Erin knew doing this work without actual ghosts to study would be difficult, it was better than being told that they had to stop their work completely, “but the practical part, you know, the loud and visible part, that needs to stop. I’m sure you understand. Thank you for your time.”

“The mayor is busy now”, the PA said helpfully when none of the four moved, “we will contact you in case we need anything else. Have a nice day!”

“Um, you too”, Patty finally was the one to answer, getting up; Erin and Abby did so, too, and Holtzmann hopped off her seat a second later – and surprising them all by poking her tongue out at the mayor before she let out a noise which sounded suspiciously like a fart, then turned and waddled off, without waiting to see anyone’s reaction.

“…alright then”, the mayor said, raising an eyebrow; Erin gave him a nervous, slightly apologetic smile, then hurried after Holtzmann, suddenly just eager to get out of there, before the man might change his mind and take their theoretical research from them, as well.

* * *

Holtzmann remained grumpy during the drive back to the restaurant, to Erin’s concern – she had seen her sad before, and unhappy, but these emotions never had lasted for so long, the engineer always having gone back to her happy personality after mere minutes.

This time though, she clearly was too upset to let that happen; she had her arms crossed the whole drive and grumbled to herself under her breath, Erin a bit amazed and proud at herself that she understood a word here and there, Holtzmann’s ire aimed at the mayor and the strict order he had given them.

She wanted to say something to make Holtzmann feel better, but didn’t want to do so in the car, with the Homeland Security man within earshot; and so, Erin remained quiet, but reached out and put one hand on Holtzmann’s back, glad when the engineer looked at her and smiled a tiny bit.

“It’s gonna be okay”, she whispered, the man in black apparently still hearing her since he glanced up to look at her through the rear view mirror, but Erin couldn’t bring herself to care; thankfully, the man didn’t speak up, only glancing at them again when Holtzmann mumbled “oka” in a low voice too, Erin giving her another reassuring smile as she rubbed her back.

It still amazed her how soft the skin felt, and she was reluctant to pull back when the car stopped at the restaurant; still she did so at last as they got out of the car, Holtzmann giving the man in black a mean look as he leaned out of the window to tell them he would be watching them.

“I’ll keep my eyes on you!” he repeated, complete with appropriate gesturing; in response, Holtzmann poked her tongue out again, until Patty poked her and told her to stop it, telling her that they didn’t need any more trouble.

“I can’t believe he told us we have to stop”, Erin grumbled as they made their way back inside, Holtzmann letting out an agreeing noise, still looking miffed, “what if more ghosts show up? Who’s gonna help these people?”

“Not sure our friends in black will”, Abby sighed, grimacing as well, “correct me if I’m wrong, but they were nowhere in sight at the Stonebrook, right? And there have been several other sightings, just listen to this.”

She recited several of the sightings she had memorized, and as she spoke, Erin frowned, the gears in her mind beginning to turn as a rather unsettling picture formed in her mind.

She hoped that she was wrong, but feared that she wasn’t, and knew that she had to make sure; she asked for a map, Abby giving her a curious look as she found one in one of her many drawers, curiosity only growing when Erin spread it on a table, grabbed one of her markers and asked Abby about the locations again.

As Abby listed them once more, Erin marked each of them on the map with a clearly visible X; and once she had finished, her frown deepened as her concern grew, Abby’s eyes going wide when Erin connected the four locations and they formed a larger X across the map.

“This is bad”, Abby said, Erin nodding in dismay; Patty and Holtzmann exchanged a confused look, then Holtzmann let out an “Eh?” while Patty asked a bit more clearer what they meant, Abby in response moving to one of her still unpacked boxes and grabbing a thick, somewhat ancient looking book from it.

“Ley lines”, Erin explained while Abby quickly found the right page, “Abby and I had been looking into them for a while, but dismissed the idea… But now…”

“Guess this is hard to dismiss”, Abby said as she put the New York map over the one she had found in the book; and Erin only felt more dismayed when she saw that the lines were overlapping perfectly, confirming the vague suspicion she had felt when she had heard the list of ghost sighting locations for the first time.

“He’s trying to activate the ley lines”, she said out loud, Abby’s face mirroring her own fears about this new development, “and if he manages…”

“If he manages, he’ll create a vortex”, Abby finished for her, and even though neither Patty, nor Holtzmann was a hundred percent sure what this meant, they both knew it couldn’t be anything good, exchanging a worried look as they found themselves wondering what exactly might happen, should the man’s plan come to fruition.


	13. Chapter 13

A quick check of the New York map showed that a hotel was right at where the lines would cross, and none of them was surprised when Patty told them that it had been built on a site where a whole list of gruesome things had happened over the years, massacres and murders and suicides.

They opened up the webpage of the hotel, just so they would have a vague idea of what they could expect; and at the sight of the staff photo, Patty gasped, then pointed out a pasty, dour looking man and told them that this was the man from the subway, the one she had seen run onto the tracks before the ghost had appeared.

“Efs yee pale”, Holtzmann commented, shaking her head at the picture; Abby translated that it meant “sad and pale”, and Erin had to agree, the man looking as if he hadn’t known happiness in quite some time.

She found it hard to feel sympathy for him though, having gone through years of loneliness and unhappiness herself, before she had found Abby again and the Ghostbusters had been formed; and still she wasn’t out there, building devices to open a vortex and potentially destroy the world, but had dealt with it in the quietness of her own home, without being a danger to others.

“We better gear up”, she said, making the others nod, Holtzmann hopping off the chair she had been using to be able to see the laptop screen and landing on the floor with an audible _thud_ , “and hit that Mercado.”

Now she was glad that the government hadn’t taken their equipment away, as she knew how difficult it would have been to build new gear fast, even with the speed Holtzmann had made the first set of proton packs with, and she had the feeling that their gear might come in handy, if only to frighten the man into not attacking them.          

Still she felt nervous as she got into Ecto-1; Abby was driving again, but this time, Holtzmann didn’t sit on the passenger seat, but climbed into the back with her, giving her a toothy grin as she reached out and patted her arm, apparently sensing her nervousness.

“Pata da be oka”, she said, and for once, Erin didn’t need a translation, the look on Holtzmann’s face and the soothing tone of her voice letting her figure out what the engineer had said without any help; and so, she smiled back and nodded, telling herself that certainly, Holtzmann was right and that it was going to be okay.

* * *

 

Apparently, the man – whose name was Rowan North, the group learned from the rather unfriendly lady at the receptionist’s desk – had a reputation among the staff, and it was not a good one; the first question after revealing North’s name had been what he had done this time, only for the woman to shake her head before any of the Ghostbusters could actually answer her.

“You know what, don’t tell me”, she said, Erin raising an eyebrow at her annoyed tone, “basement.”

“Um, thank you”, Erin gave back, but the woman was already answering the phone again, having dismissed them; they all exchanged a look, then got moving, practically sneaking down the stairs to the basement, not wanting to gain the man’s attention before they wanted him to know they were there.

As it turned out though, there wouldn’t have been any need for them to be quiet; Rowan was busy with his large, creepy looking machine, standing with his back to them, and flinching visibly when Abby sharply called out and told him to step away from the machine.

“Well, well, well”, he said, recovering quite quickly and turning to face them, “the Ghostbusters. I’m surprised you found me so quickly, but in the long run, it doesn’t matter.”

“Step away from the machine”, Abby repeated, aiming her proton wand at him for good measure; he raised an eyebrow, then smirked, giving them all a look full of contempt, his gaze stopping at Holtzmann, his second eyebrow going up as well as he took in the engineer’s appearance.

“So now I get to see this strange creature in the flesh”, he said, Erin glaring at him, not liking it to have Holtzmann referred to as a creature, “you know, if I had more time, I would have loved to bring you to a lab and study you, little yellow thing.”

“Screw to”, Holtzmann gave back, sounding annoyed, as well; Rowan looked amused, then turned back to the machine, as if they weren’t in the room, prompting Abby to snap “Hey!”, glad when he stopped and looked at them again.

“I said, step away from that machine”, Abby repeated, annoyed when he smirked again, “police is on the way already, don’t make this worse for yourself than it already is.”

“Worse than it already is?” Rowan repeated, shaking his head, “I’ve been looked down upon all my life. You think I’d go to prison, where I can be treated even worse? I think not.”

And with those words, before any of them had the chance to react, he reached out and grabbed parts of his machine; immediately, electricity ran through him, his body jerking violently, an unpleasant stench filling the air, making the Ghostbusters gag.

“Oh jeez”, Erin said, while Rowan, after what seemed like way too long, finally died and hit the floor, “and there’s not even a window to open. Oh my God, he just…”

“I did not see that coming”, Abby mumbled, looking pale; Erin nodded, and just then, the machine let out a threatening sounding rumble, Holtzmann responding with a little yelp before she quickly holstered her proton wand and ran to the machine, as fast as her short legs could carry her.

She reached the machine, but quickly found herself thwarted by her lack of size, not able to reach any of the levers she had to reach, but not daring to climb the device, either; she turned to look at the other three and gestured, then cried “up!”, and Abby rushed to help her, picking her up and lifting her where she had to go.

“Are we good?” Erin called out, nervous, while Patty distracted herself from possible explosions by looking around the lab, “Holtz? Abby? Are we good?”

“Si!” Holtzmann called out after what had seemed like way too long to Erin, the machine’s ominous rumbling stopping a second later; and another moment later, Holtzmann and Abby came back into view, the engineer giving an enthusiastic thumbs up.

“Thank goodness”, Erin sighed, smiling at the toothy grin Holtzmann gave her in response; then, Patty called out to them, apparently having found something interesting, Erin’s smile fading when she saw what Patty was holding up.

“Look what Mister Creepy McCreep read during his trips to the beach”, Patty said, Erin grimacing at the copy of Ghosts From Our Past in her hand, “guess you girls inspired him quite a bit.”

“That is not what we were going for when we wrote that”, Abby said, shaking her head for emphasis; Erin let out a noise of agreement, then blushed as another thought came to her, saying it out loud despite how embarrassed it was making her feel.

“Is it bad that I’m kinda flattered he bought our book?” she wanted to know, Abby just raising an eyebrow while Patty shook her head in disbelief; before Erin could feel bad though, Holtzmann let out a burst of laughter, and it made the physicist smile as well, an expression she quickly had to get rid of when the doors flew open and police stormed the room, the men only slowing down when they saw Rowan dead and the Ghostbusters with their gear, realizing that they had stopped him before he had been able to set his vile plan into motion.


	14. Chapter 14

Once they were back at their lab, they all changed out of their coveralls, then sat down in one of the booths; Patty had brought the book from Rowan’s basement lab, Erin picking it up now and idly leafing through it, glancing at the notes Rowan had scribbled in the margins and frowning to herself as she thought back to the tech they had seen at the lab, aware of how close it was to the equipment Holtzmann had built for them.

“Eriiiin”, Holtzmann’s squeaky voice distracted her as the engineer came climbing up onto the bench, the physicist smiling almost automatically at how cute this looked, her smile only widening when Holtzmann flopped down so that her head ended up in Erin’s lap, “onegut?”

She pointed at the book, and Erin figured she wanted to know if it was interesting; she shrugged, then held it so that Holtzmann could see, the engineer responding by shuffling up before she sat up, Erin smiling again at having Holtzmann sit on her lap like that, both of them now able to comfortably look at the book.

“Ewww”, Holtzmann let out when Erin turned the page and they found the drawings, rather colourful images of ghosts ripping people apart; Erin nodded her agreement to that assessment, then turned the page again, only finding more disturbing drawings.

“Wow”, she said, raising an eyebrow, “this is like a colouring book made by Stephen King. That man was seriously disturbed.”

“Creepa”, Holtzmann agreed solemnly, and they both had a moment to feel relief that he had been dealt with – before Erin turned the page again, and they saw the biggest drawing yet.

It was Rowan himself, but an oversized, demonic looking version, tearing down skyscrapers with fire in his eyes; and all at once, Erin felt sick as she read some of his notes, and realized what his complete plan had been, and how they had pretty much played into his hands.

“We better let the mayor know about this”, she said out loud, “just in case. Rowan’s wild ideas might not work but…”

Holtzmann nodded, pulling a face at the drawing, then turning the page so she wouldn’t have to see it anymore; the drawings only got worse though, and the engineer let out a noise dismay before she covered her eyes with her hands, making Erin laugh at the adorableness of it all.

“Okay, okay”, she said, snapping the book shut and prompting Holtzmann to dare look again, “no more creepy drawings. Should we go see if we can find some food? Hard to believe after a man killed himself in front of us an hour ago, but I’m kinda hungry…”

“BANANA”, Holtzmann cried in reply, making her laugh again; Holtzmann hopped off her lap and waddled to the little kitchen area, Erin following her after she had put the book on the table, making a mental note to call the mayor later, not wanting Rowan to catch them unaware if his plan should work out the way he had been hoping for. 

* * *

The rest of the day was fairly calm, with Holtzmann working more on their equipment, Erin and Abby busy with the math behind said equipment and Patty doing research on possibly haunted locations, along with the areas where ghosts had been spotted before Rowan’s demise; and when it got time to pack up and head home, Erin asked Holtzmann if she wanted to come with her again, ignoring the way Abby raised an eyebrow at the engineer’s enthusiastic agreement.

“Alright”, Erin smiled, Holtzmann beaming back at her, “let’s go then, I’ll need to get you some more bananas, since you ate them all.”

“Yum”, Holtzmann solemnly replied, rubbing her belly for emphasis; Erin giggled, the sound earning her another look from Abby, then asked if Holtzmann was ready to leave then, wishing Abby and Patty a nice evening once the engineer had confirmed she was.

Together, they left the restaurant, Erin by now not caring anymore that people were giving Holtzmann odd looks as she waddled along next to her; she tried to slow her own pace, not wanting to force Holtzmann into running with her short legs and tiny feet, something Holtzmann was clearly grateful for as she beamed up at her again.

They stopped at the supermarket on their way to Erin’s home, buying dinner for both of them, a bunch of bananas for Holtzmann and something more balanced for Erin; she wondered if this diet could turn out to be bad for the engineer, but Holtzmann seemed quite happy and healthy, and so Erin figured that it was okay.

“You know”, she said as they reached her apartment, Holtzmann eying the shopping bag as if she was afraid it might vanish and take the bananas with it, should she let it out of her gaze for one moment, “I got a bunch of laundry to do, I can throw your little coveralls in with it if you want?”

“Si!” Holtzmann said, with a bright smile which almost automatically made Erin smile back at her, “tank yu!”

“No problem”, Erin reassured her, “I’ll find you something else you can wear, a shirt or something… It’s gonna be big, but better than nothing, huh?”

“Absfou”, Holtzmann replied, giving a thumbs up; Erin wasn’t quite sure what she had said, but figured it had been something positive, the gesture making it easier to understand, her smile widening as she nodded.

“Alright then”, she said, “I’ll go find you something to wear, and then we can toss those coveralls in. Be right back.”

Holtzmann nodded enthusiastically, and Erin made her way to the bedroom, finding a comfortable shirt in one of her drawers, figuring it’d be alright for Holtzmann to wear, even if it would be oversized for her and would look more like a dress than an actual shirt.

“There you go”, she said as she returned to the engineer, raising an eyebrow when she saw that, while she had been gone, Holtzmann had pulled the bananas from the shopping bag and already had eaten one, just taking a big bite of the second one when she came back, “and wow, you must have been hungry. Don’t eat them all at once, Holtz, or you’ll have no breakfast tomorrow.”

“Pelo yum”, Holtzmann said pitifully, with a forlorn look at the remaining bananas; Erin let out a sympathetic “aww” sound and petted her head without thinking, and immediately, Holtzmann was grinning again, finishing the rest of the banana with a large bite before she eyed the shirt Erin had brought her.

“You might have to tie a knot in it or something so you don’t fall over it”, Erin suggested as she handed the shirt to her, “but it should work for one day and your coveralls aren’t that big so they should be dry by _Holtzmann_!”

Her cry was easily explained, caused by Holtzmann pulling off her coveralls without caring the slightest Erin was there; quickly, the physicist covered her eyes, but not without getting a glimpse of a bright yellow butt, shaking her head to herself while Holtzmann put on the shirt.

“Okay”, Erin said after she had taken a peek and could be sure Holtzmann was dressed again, the engineer’s tongue poking out as she tied a large knot into the shirt to make it shorter, “next time you do that, warn me in advance, alright? I like you, but I did not need to see your butt.”

“Scusa”, Holtzmann said, looking bashful, and Erin couldn’t help herself, but just had to smile again; she told her it was alright, earning another bright smile, then suggested that they should have dinner now, figuring that Holtzmann could have one more banana and would still have enough left for next day’s breakfast.

This third banana was eaten as fast as the other two, Holtzmann already finished before Erin even had gotten done with preparing her dinner; the engineer sat patiently with her though until she had finished, babbling excitedly about the day they had had, and Erin was amazed to realize that she understood more and more of Holtzmann’s odd language.

She still didn’t get every single word, but could piece together most of it from context; and when she was absolutely lost, she asked what Holtzmann meant, the engineer trying with other words then, until Erin got what she wanted to say.

It took a bit longer than a conversation with Abby or Patty would have, but it worked out better than Erin had thought it would; and so, she felt relaxed and happy by the time they both decided it was time to sleep, wishing Holtzmann a good night before she retreated to her bedroom, glad that she had invited the engineer to her home again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're wondering "Why are there so many pics in this chapter", it's my fault. I made aloc do it. XD


	15. Chapter 15

Holtzmann had gotten comfortable on Erin’s couch again, and had fallen asleep rather quickly, the day’s exciting events taking their toll on her small body; and she slept deeply for several hours – until Erin’s screams tore her out of her dreams, and she was wide awake from one moment to the next.

She was off the couch in a flash, and rushed to the bedroom as fast as she could, cursing her short legs and tiny feet; she wondered what she would do, should someone be attacking Erin, glad that her eyes worked fairly well in the dark when she burst into the room and saw well enough to realize that no one else was in there with Erin, the physicist tossing and turning on the bed.

“Erin, Erin”, Holtzmann said, eager to wake her up, to get her out of the nightmare; she grabbed her arm and pulled, not quite strong enough to shake her, but thankfully, it worked, Erin letting out a strangled gasp as her eyes flew open.

“Oka, oka”, Holtzmann quickly added, before Erin could think she was part of her nightmare and get frightened all over again, “hubnam. All oka. Oka.”

She once again cursed her inability to speak properly, but at least, her voice seemed to do the trick, even if her words sounded like nonsense; Erin’s hectic breathing was slowing down a bit, but her eyes were still wide, and full of fear, and it broke Holtzmann’s heart.

“Oka”, she said again, rubbing Erin’s arm soothingly; Erin took in a slow, controlled breath, then ran a shaking hand through her hair, having to swallow a few times before she could reply.

“I’m sorry”, she said, earning a confused look from Holtzmann, the engineer clearly not knowing what she was apologizing for, “I didn’t mean to wake you… I guess what we witnessed today had more of an impact on me than I thought.”

She grimaced, and Holtzmann gave her a sympathetic look, still rubbing her arm; belatedly, the engineer realized that she was wearing neither her gloves, nor her goggles and shoes, and worried that the sight of her rather deep-set eyes and paw-like feet might freak Erin out even more, but the physicist didn’t even seem to notice, giving her a small smile at her attempts to cheer her up.

“Is oka”, Holtzmann told her, hoping she could get it across that she wasn’t upset about having been woken up, “no scusa. Domo be telwab?”

She gave her a hopefully calming smile, and to her relief, it seemed to work, since Erin appeared to calm down further; she smiled and reached out to grasp Holtzmann’s hand, giving it a careful squeeze as she said “thank you”, and Holtzmann figured that Erin had calmed down enough to try and go back to sleep, and that she should go back to the living room so the physicist actually could do that.

“Wait”, Erin said when Holtzmann moved to hop off the bed, a blush colouring her cheeks which earned her a questioning look from the engineer, “um… would you mind… staying here? With me? I really… I don’t want to be alone right now. It’s okay if you don’t want to, or if it makes you uncomfortable, I don’t want to freak you out…”

“Zee!” Holtzmann cried in response, Erin not quite sure if this was an agreement or a sound of dismay at the very idea, only for the engineer to answer her question non-verbally – by plopping down onto the pillow next to her and grinning at her, the physicist smiling as well as she figured that the sound had been an agreement after all.

“Zee”, Holtzmann said again, then folded her hands beneath her head, closed her eyes and snored exaggeratedly, miming sleep; Erin found herself laughing, and she nodded, then pulled up the blanket so it covered Holtzmann, too, the engineer giving her another bright grin in response.

“Sleep, yes”, Erin confirmed, Holtzmann nodding at once, “and thank you, Holtz, I really appreciate that.”

“No sopa”, Holtzmann told her, with a smaller, but much kinder smile; Erin smiled back at her, then got comfortable again and closed her eyes, quickly drifting off into sleep again.

Holtzmann needed a bit longer to fall asleep again, feeling nervous at being so close to Erin; she told herself not to be stupid though, that Erin having asked her to stay meant nothing – after all, she bitterly thought to herself as she laid there and Erin breathed evenly next to her, she was a strange, knee-high creature, shaped like a tic-tac and unable to talk properly, and so, Erin certainly hadn’t any feelings for her which went beyond friendship and perhaps a bit of morbid fascination.

She held back a sigh, not wanting to wake Erin up again, and closed her eyes, telling herself she had to get more sleep too; and just then, Erin rolled over and her arm ended up slumping over Holtzmann, the engineer freezing, her eyes snapping open again as she wondered if Erin would wake up again now after all.

The physicist let out a small sigh at the soft warmth beneath her arm, and, to Holtzmann’s amazement, squeezed her a bit in her sleep; then, she relaxed again, and as she slept on, Holtzmann allowed herself to relax again as well, soon drifting off into sleep again too, both of them slumbering peacefully until Erin’s alarm went off in the next morning.

* * *

In the next morning, Abby and Patty were already there when Erin and Holtzmann arrived, the physicist having hit the snooze button of her alarm a couple of times thanks to the missed sleep of the previous night; neither of the two made a comment on the few minutes Erin and Holtzmann were late, Abby just telling Erin that coffee was ready and that the mayor’s office had called to congratulate them about finding Rowan and stopping him before he could make his plan a reality.

“They told us we still have to be discreet, of course”, she added, rolling her eyes, her annoyance making Erin smile a bit, “but also that we should be on the lookout for any leftover devices he might have put up God knows where, so I guess the order that we can’t do practical stuff isn’t valid anymore.”

“Good to know”, Erin gave back, moving to get a cup of coffee, speaking up so Abby could hear her still, “so we don’t have to tell people that we can’t help them in case they call.”

She finished preparing her coffee, turned – and nearly dropped the mug as she jumped, a tall, stern-looking woman standing just a few feet away and looking at her with an expression of mild interest, Erin’s free hand coming up to her chest as she couldn’t stop herself from gasping.

“Oh my God, you scared me”, she said before she could stop herself, the woman looking unimpressed, “I’m sorry, who… who’re you?”

“BECKY”, Holtzmann hollered from somewhere behind her before the woman had a chance to respond; Erin jumped again at the unexpected shout, the woman sighing quietly as Holtzmann rushed past Erin, surprisingly fast, and hugged the other woman’s leg, Erin nearly frowning to herself when she felt an unreasonable flare of jealousy at the sight.

“Again, Jillian”, the woman said, looking down at the engineer while Holtzmann was still hugging her leg, practically snuggled up against it, “you’re only allowed to call me that for as long as you’re in that… state. And it’s good to see you, too.”

Grinning widely, Holtzmann let go of her leg at last and took a step back; she pointed at the briefcase the woman was carrying and babbled out an excited stream of words, Erin at the same moment thinking back to what Abby had told about the incident which had made Holtzmann look like this, her eyes going wide as she realized who this woman was.

“Oh!” she let out, making both the woman and Holtzmann look at her, “you’re Dr Gorin, right? Holtzmann’s mentor?”

“Yes”, the woman confirmed, Holtzmann beaming up at her adoringly, the sight making Erin smile again as well, simply with how adorable it was, “Dr Rebecca Gorin. You must be Dr Gilbert? Dr Yates has mentioned you on the phone, when she gave me the address of your new lab.”

“Yes”, Erin nodded, “Dr Erin Gilbert. Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise”, Dr Gorin said, even though she didn’t look particularly pleased; deciding not to let this bother her though, Erin gave her another smile, the woman clearing her throat in response, then holding up her briefcase, letting her know that she had come with another possible cure for Holtzmann.

“I’ll just have to mix it up”, she said, Erin frowning a bit at her next words, “I’m not sure how stable it would have been in its finished state, and if it would have survived the transport. Where is your restroom?”

Holtzmann pointed it out to her, and she went there; and while she was busy in there, Holtzmann turned to Erin to beam at her, her eyes shining with excitement behind her goggles.

“Erin, Erin”, she said excitedly, waddling over to the physicist and tugging at her pants, as if she still had to gain her attention, “capal rem! Bok da ohs!”

“Fingers crossed it will work”, Erin gave back, hoping along with her that the cure would turn her back human; Holtzmann nodded enthusiastically, then let out an unarticulated squeal, and Erin found herself wondering if she had been this happy and excited every time the elder woman had come over with a new cure to try – and how big her disappointment had been when it hadn’t worked.

She truly hoped it would work out this time, but was determined to comfort Holtzmann the best she could if it wouldn’t, her heart clenching up at the mere thought of Holtzmann facing another disappointment, Erin not wanting to see the joy in her eyes extinguished even for a second.


	16. Chapter 16

It took Dr Gorin quite a while to come back out of the bathroom, and when she did, Holtzmann was practically vibrating with excitement; not quite sure what to expect, Erin excused herself, figuring that giving them some privacy might be a good idea, and wandered off to find Abby, while Holtzmann already was climbing up onto a table, smiling excitedly at Gorin and at the syringe the woman was holding.

Only when Dr Gorin came closer, Holtzmann noticed the strange smell which suddenly seemed to come from her, like something rotten, a vaguely familiar scent, and when the woman gave her an uncharacteristically cheerful smile, the engineer started suspecting that something was very wrong.

“Becky?” she said questioningly, and while normally, Dr Gorin reacted with some sort of dismay at being called this, her smile only widened this time; she held up the syringe and nodded, stopping in front of her, Holtzmann eying the syringe, suddenly quite sure that she didn’t want this anywhere near her, and certainly not in her veins.

“Please do hold still, Holtzmann”, Dr Gorin said when the engineer tried to shuffle away, “this will only hurt for a moment.”

“Non Becky!” Holtzmann cried in response, trying to hop out of reach, not quite sure what was happening, but certain that it was something bad; and when Dr Gorin made a grab for her, this impression only grew stronger, panic rising within her and making her little heart beat faster.

“Non Becky”, Holtzmann repeated as she squirmed, trying to break free, but the woman’s grip on her arm was too strong, and she couldn’t get away, her panic only growing; she cried for help as loud as she could, and then, everything happened very fast.

She heard the footsteps of the others approach rapidly, while Gorin swung the syringe at her; reacting out of pure instinct, Holtzmann bit her arm before the needle could make contact, and the woman yelped in pain – and suddenly, the table was gone from beneath her feet as she was sent flying.

For a moment, as the world whirled past her, she saw Erin’s wide eyes and shocked face, heard her cry out “Holtzmann!”; and then, she hit the window, and felt glass shatter before she kept falling, having a moment to cry out in panic before she hit the sidewalk.

* * *

“Oh my God!” Erin cried as Abby and Patty rushed to stop Dr Gorin from going after the engineer; she didn’t wait to see if they could restrain her, but turned and ran, hearing Gorin curse behind her, followed by a shockingly loud slap, not even turning around then though, fully focused on getting downstairs.

She ran down the stairs, somehow managing to not fall and break her neck; her heart was hammering up to her throat when she burst through the door, only to nearly stop when she saw Holtzmann on the sidewalk amidst splinters of glass.

“Oh my God”, she said again, at the same time shocked and relieved when she saw Holtzmann sit up slowly; the engineer looked dazed and shell-shocked, and bruises were already forming on her back where she had landed, but she was hurt much less badly then Erin had feared.

“Holtzmann”, she said as she hurried to her side, then knelt down next to her; the engineer looked up at her, her eyes suddenly swimming with tears, the corners of her mouth turning down, and Erin’s heart flew out to her, the mix of sympathy she felt for her and the relief that she hadn’t been killed like Martin Heist had almost making her tear up, too.

“Oh my God, I thought you’re dead”, she said, reaching out to touch her arm, not quite sure if touching her actually was a good idea – before Holtzmann flung herself into her arms and buried her face in her stomach, her whole body shaking as she let out a strangled sob.

“It’s okay”, Erin reassured her, holding her close and petting her head, figuring that rubbing her back wouldn’t be a good idea, “whatever it was that made Dr Gorin act that way, it’s gone, she’s not gonna hurt you again, I promise.”

“Owie”, Holtzmann sniffled in response, and Erin’s heart broke all over again; making sure to have a good hold on her, she came to her feet, carrying the still quietly sniffling Holtzmann in her arms, despite the engineer’s tears feeling relief again that Holtzmann had survived the fall relatively unscathed.

Just when she reached the door, it flew open and Abby, Patty and Dr Gorin came rushing outside; they stopped dead though when they saw Erin carrying Holtzmann, Dr Gorin looking as if she might throw up any moment when she saw the tears still trickling down the engineer’s cheeks.

“Jillian, I’m so sorry”, she said, the women making room so Erin could carry Holtzmann inside, staying close to them as the physicist made her way to the couch, “I was readying the cure and suddenly…”

“Rowan possessed her”, Abby explained, Erin grimacing as she had to realize that this part of his plan apparently had worked out after all, “and he went after Holtz, he tried to sedate her and when she fought back, he threw her out the window. Patty ended up slapping Dr Gorin and that got Rowan out of her again.”

“We’ll have to stop him, before he can possess someone else and get his machine powered up again”, Erin said, making the others nod, “but first, we need to take care of Holtz, I need something cold I can put her down on, she landed really hard on her back.”

“Owie”, Holtzmann said pitifully, but at least, she wasn’t crying anymore; Abby hurried off to find something cold, returning a short while later with a large towel and a tray of ice cubes, giving the engineer an apologetic look at the makeshift solution.

Quickly, so Erin wouldn’t have to hold Holtzmann much longer, Abby wrapped the ice cubes up in the towel, then put it on the couch, as flat as she could; Erin thanked her, then carefully lowered Holtzmann onto the couch, the engineer letting out a little squeal when the cold touched her back.

“I know this is uncomfortable”, Erin showed sympathy, earning a grimace from the engineer, “but it will help, I promise.”

“Thankfully, Holtz’ body is pretty much indestructible”, Abby said, Erin looking up at her from where she was crouching next to the couch and caressing Holtzmann’s hair in an attempt to give her some comfort, the gesture not unnoticed by the other three, but none of them commenting on it, “one of the few perks she got when she ended up like this.”

“Rowan didn’t know that though”, Erin said, her gaze darkening, “he was ready to kill her, and now he’s out there. Once you feel better, Holtz, we should get out there and make him pay.”

“Si!” Holtzmann said enthusiastically, frowning and clenching her tiny fists; then, she winced as the motion made her back hurt again, and Erin gave her a worried look, telling her to wait a bit longer before she’d get up again.

“Here”, Abby said as she approached with a banana, Holtzmann’s eyes lighting up, “food always helps to get her back on her feet quicker.”

Holtzmann peeled and inhaled the banana with her usual speed, munching happily, looking much less upset from one moment to the next; Erin smiled at the sight, still caressing her hair, glad that this hadn’t ended much worse and that soon, Holtzmann would be okay again.


	17. Chapter 17

Once Holtzmann had recovered enough, they headed out together, Dr Gorin staying behind to man the phone – since Kevin had vanished to God knew where –, all four of them suiting up before they got into the Ecto-1, Abby once again driving while Holtzmann was in the back with Erin and Patty was in the passenger seat.

Clearly, Rowan had already done something, the sky having gone a rather unsettling greenish colour; and as they drove towards the Mercado, they saw several ghosts flying this way and that, people running in a panic, the streets quickly becoming jammed as people hopped out of their cars and ran, just leaving them there.

“Dang it”, Erin cursed under her breath, unsettled by how fast chaos was spreading; Holtzmann reached over to pat her arm, giving her a reassuring smile when she looked at her, but Erin found it difficult to be comforted even by this adorableness, worried what they might have to face before they’d be able to stop Rowan.

“Okay, we can’t keep going”, Abby said from the driver’s seat, frowning at the jammed streets, “no way I can drive a hearse through this. Actually, I doubt I could drive a golf cart through this. Guess we will have to walk.”

“Let’s hope no one steals the car”, Patty commented, Abby responding by pulling the keys from it; then, the four got out of the car and retrieved their packs from the trunk, quickly strapping them on, the ghosts which already were out and about ignoring them for now, either not having an idea that they had come to take care of them or not caring.

“The shortest route is still along this road”, Patty told them, glancing around as she almost expected a ghost to come rushing them, “across Times Square, let’s hope there’s not a panicking crowd there.”

“Let’s go”, Erin said, making the others nod; they got moving, jogging as fast as the weight of the packs allowed, Holtzmann having to run twice as fast as the others to keep up, until Erin bent down and swept her up, carrying her under one arm like a sack of potatoes, the engineer squawking at first, then resigning to her fate, realizing that there was no way she could keep up for the whole duration of the run, not with her short legs.

They kept running, rapidly approaching Times Square – until they had to come to a harsh stop as Rowan apparently, somehow, had noticed their approach and was upping his game, the sky darkening further as the number of ghosts increased, culminating in gruesomely distorted parade balloons, none of the Ghostbusters truly surprised when said balloons started coming at them.

Quickly, Erin put Holtzmann down, and they all yanked out their proton wands; they started firing, and one by one, the balloons got popped, but despite their best efforts, they weren’t quite successful, the last balloon, in form of a giant marshmallow man, falling over on them and managing to trap them beneath it before they could destroy it.

“Argh”, Abby let out as she found herself unable to move; Holtzmann let out an incoherent, but clearly unhappy noise, rolling her eyes to see what Erin was doing when she felt the physicist move next to her, just a tiny bit, but enough to be noticeable.

“Just… a… bit… more”, Erin panted, struggling to move against the weight pressing down on her; it was difficult, and slower than she would have liked, but she did manage, frowning in concentration as she dug her fingers into her pocket, the fact that she was lying on the object she wanted not making this any easier.

“Hold on”, she told the others, hearing both Abby and Patty groan, “I almost got it…”

She finally managed to curl her fingers around the cool plastic, and pulled her hand back; it was surprisingly difficult to get the little blade out with one hand, but she managed, and a firm upwards motion rammed the knife into the balloon, the loud pop with which it burst making them all grimace in dismay.

“Whew”, Erin said, eying the Swiss Army Knife Holtzmann had given her with relief, “I wasn’t sure that would work. Good thing you gave that to me, Holtz.”

“Yaaay”, Holtzmann cheered in reply, making Erin laugh; she folded the blade back in and put the knife back in her pocket, then they got moving again, proton wands still out, ready to take care of Rowan once and for all.

* * *

As it turned out, Rowan did indeed know they were coming, and sent a whole army of ghosts to fight them in Times Square; Erin felt nervous at the sheer mass of ghosts, too many to count, but told herself that they could do this, that they had to, because there was no one else.

“To tadda ka tu boom boom”, Holtzmann said, Abby translating that she pointed out the side arms she had made for each of them, “ka allkeg to uso vus.”

“And she suggests we use them”, Erin was the one to say it this time, earning a proud look from Abby and a toothy grin from Holtzmann; she still was nervous, but reminded herself that they had done this before, had fought ghosts before, and so, she took in a deep breath and set her jaw, gripping her weapon tighter as she got ready.

The ghosts didn’t give her much more time to mentally prepare herself, anyway, charging the group; and they all got into the fight, using their proton wands and then the individual weapons Holtzmann had made for them, Erin quite stunned at the power her proton shotgun displayed when she fired it for the first time.

For a while, things went well, the ranks of ghosts being thinned out as the Ghostbusters plowed through them; then, what appeared to be some sort of leader, an absurdly tall ghost on thin, stilt-like legs, roared loudly, and new ghosts came out of the mist all around them, Holtzmann setting her jaw as she took them in.

“Forgot cama mi daga mem”, she then said, and Erin had a chance to wonder what toys she was talking about – before she hit a button on the tiny control panel strapped to her arm, and two small proton pistols popped from her proton pack, Holtzmann giving a somewhat mean grin as she grabbed them.

She took a moment to lick one of the guns, an almost mad glint in her eyes, then said “coopee go” – before she got to work, making use of her shortness and her ability to roll like a ball, Erin just able to stop and stare at how easily she took down ghosts left and right.

 

The leader ghost was the last on to fall, Holtzmann swinging both guns up and aiming both streams at him; he exploded with a loud, pained roar, the engineer letting go of guns once he was gone, grinning from ear to ear as she raised her little fists while the guns were pulled back into the proton pack.

“Whoooo”, Holtzmann cried, Erin still staring, quite impressed by the moves she just had seen the engineer pull off, “to sola ka Holtzmanned, kid!”

“That was amazing”, Erin said, earning another bright grin from Holtzmann; she grinned back at her, then made a vague gesture towards the Mercado, suggesting that they should get moving again, and stop Rowan before things could get any worse.

The others agreed, and Erin once again picked Holtzmann up, in her arms this time though instead of carrying her beneath one arm; Holtzmann grumbled a bit, but let it happen, cheering Erin on as the Ghostbusters continued their way to the Mercado, feeling much more confident about the upcoming fight after the victory they just had achieved.


	18. Chapter 18

“So that is the mayor’s version of having things under control, huh”, Abby commented as they walked through the rows of motionless people, cops and soldiers and people in black suits all frozen in the same position, as if they had been in the middle of a choreographed dance number, “good job you guys, great effort.”

Holtzmann poked several people as she walked past them, Erin having put her down again since there was no more need to run; she frowned when none of them reacted, poking the next leg in her path harder, not surprised though when she got no reaction.

“Creepa”, she said, making the others nod; then, they stood in front of the Mercado, and Erin took in a deep breath, telling herself yet again that she could do this, her grip on the proton wand tightening as they stepped through the doors.

And a moment later, she stepped right into a glob of slime, a yelp coming from her as she slipped and fell, the air getting knocked out of her when she landed hard on her back, embarrassment at having fallen like this mixing with the pain as she struggled to her feet again.

“Erin, Erin”, Holtzmann said as Erin got back up, staring at her in worry, “nama to oka?!”

“I’m fine”, Erin reassured her, grumbling at the puddle of slime afterwards, “but I’m getting quite sure that this stuff is after me personally. Just saying.”

“Awww”, Holtzmann let out, reaching out to pat her leg – and just then, an all too familiar voice chuckled up ahead, the Ghostbusters freezing before they all looked where the voice had come from, shocked to find Kevin standing on one of the balconies high up in the lobby, the smarmy grin on his face showing that it wasn’t truly him who was in control.

“So that is where Kevin went”, Patty said with a sigh, then raised her voice so he could hear her, “get out of him, you big bully! He’s just a big puppy, leave him alone!”

“He’s dumb as a rock”, Rowan replied with the voice of the man in question, and Erin found herself wondering if Kevin was conscious in there and could hear them or if his consciousness had passed out when Rowan had taken over, “I can feel myself getting dumber by the second so… Sure, have him back.”

He snickered again, then his ghost rose from Kevin’s body, and Erin’s question was answered – as the man’s eyes rolled back in his head and he fell, the Ghostbusters crying out and rushing to catch him, grunting when his weight hit them, Erin and Abby taking the brunt of it.

“God, what is he made of”, Abby panted as they dragged him backwards, out of the immediate danger zone; Rowan laughed as he flew this way and that, teasing them about how long it had taken them to get there, making Holtzmann grumble by asking if they had needed so much time because of her short legs.

“Or could you not decide which jumpsuits to wear?” he continued, flying a loop to avoid the proton stream Abby fired at him, “women troubles, eh?”

“Maybe if you didn’t think of women as walking clichés, you wouldn’t have been a sad pasty guy hiding in a basement”, Abby shot back; he had no response to that, deciding to mock their aim instead as he avoided another shot, teasing them about how apparently, they just couldn’t hit him, and asking them what form they wanted him to take to make this easier.

“Bull lengo”, Holtzmann said snarkily, forcing Erin to hold back a giggle; Rowan ignored her, apparently willing to listen to Patty though when the historian suggested something small and cute.

“Like the ghost from your logo?” he said, stopping his flying around to hover in front of them for a second, “that’s cute, right?”

He changed into a cartoonish version of their logo, which indeed was cute… until he started growing, bigger and bigger, sharp teeth popping from his gums and his eyes taking on a ghastly yellow colour.

“Oh no”, Erin said, her fear spiking as Rowan just kept growing, the ceiling creaking when he hit it, “he’s just getting bigger and bigger…!”

“Run!” Abby cried in response, already grabbing Holtzmann, the engineer not protesting this time, just staring wide-eyed at the growing ghost; they all turned and ran, and he helped them along with a wave of ectoplasm as he reached his final size, practically flushing them out of the hotel and onto the street.

“How do we stop him”, Erin cried as they ran, as fast as they could, Rowan growling loud enough behind them to make it feel as if the ground was trembling, “I’m not sure our proton guns are gonna be enough for this, he’s so big!”

“The vortex”, Patty suggested in response, making them look at her as they kept running, “maybe if we can… turn it somehow, it’ll suck him in instead of spitting out ghosts, you guys said it works with the ley line energy right? And our proton packs use energy contrary to that one so we can trap the ghosts, so if we use that…”

“That’s brilliant”, Abby cried, making Patty beam at her, “we just need something with enough energy… the packs might not work, not even all at once…”

“Vroom vroom”, Holtzmann shouted, making driving motions at the look the others shot her; Patty grimaced as she realized what Holtzmann was talking about, but figured that it was their only chance, even if that meant losing her uncle’s hearse and that she would have to face his wrath over the vanished car.

“Alright”, Abby said, nodding at the engineer’s suggestion, “Holtz, we’ll get the car, Patty and Erin, you keep him busy!”

“Okay”, Erin said, a bit nervous about this idea, but knowing they had no other options – they would have to run fast to keep Rowan busy, and Holtzmann couldn’t do that with her short legs; she told the two to be careful, then they took off again, while Abby ran into the other direction, to where the car had been parked, still carrying Holtzmann under one arm, like a sort of oversized football.

Thankfully, they made it to the car without troubles, the few ghosts they encountered quickly taken care of as Holtzmann fired at them to chase them away; once at the car, Abby got into the driver’s seat while Holtzmann climbed up onto the roof, working frantically on the components there as Abby drove.

The Ecto-1 got quite a few dings and dents on the way to the vortex, thanks to the cars parked everywhere, but Abby didn’t let that stop her; she kept driving as fast as she dared, hearing Holtzmann babble to herself up on the roof as the engineer worked there, interrupting herself with shrieks every now and then when Abby took a curve too enthusiastically and she had to cling to the equipment to not fall off.

“Vortex in sight!” Abby yelled as the vortex came up ahead; she could see Erin and Patty run close to it, attempting to get Rowan close enough that he would get sucked in, and it seemed to be working, the massive ghost stomping along behind them, growling and roaring as he chased them.

“Almost there Holtz!” Abby added, getting ready to fling herself from the car; and just as she reached for the door, Holtzmann babbled at her from the roof, and she froze, then shook her head.

“Holtz, no!” she protested, “I won’t let you do that, there has to be another way!”

“Nah”, Holtzmann replied, sounding way too cheerful for what she just had suggested, “no orto via. Po bok asa ka pudum.”

Abby wanted to say a million things in response, but couldn’t think of a single one, and the vortex was coming steadily closer; and so, she swallowed heavily, then nodded, giving Holtzmann a look she hoped would convey all that she was feeling – before she flung herself from the moving car, hitting the sidewalk hard enough to get her breath knocked out of her.

Holtzmann remained on the car as it shot the last few feet towards the vortex, yanking out the wires she had been working to get access to during the drive just as it flew over the edge; she heard Erin scream her name a few feet away, and turned her head to look at her, having time to give her a thumbs up – before the car fell into the vortex and took her with it, the equipment on top of it exploding at the same moment, the loud cracking noise drowning the screams of Erin and Patty as they both watched her fall.

  



	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: NSFW visual content is in the end

The plan worked out as they had hoped, with the vortex reversing and sucking Rowan in, along with all the other ghosts he had brought to the city; he roared as he got pulled in, had no chance to withstand the vortex’ power though, letting out one final cry as he vanished into the swirling green depths.

None of the three women could feel a sense of triumph at the victory though, not after how Holtzmann had sacrificed herself; Erin couldn’t even talk, a thick lump in her throat keeping her from saying anything, while Patty just stared at the vortex and Abby was openly crying, shaking her head in denial.

“She told me”, she then said, making the other two look at her, “she said that she had to do it, that there was no other way… I should have done something but there was no time, she told me right before we reached the vortex…”

“She sacrificed herself”, Erin said tonelessly, losing the fight against her tears now, “she knew she had to and she did it and smiled as she fell… I can’t believe she’s—”

The vortex rumbled loudly, interrupting her, the three women staring at it as it sped up again, swirling faster and faster; Abby had time to say “what the” – then the vortex spat the Ecto-1 back out, damaged and smoking, only taking more damage when it landed on the street, making the Ghostbusters jump.

And a moment later, a vaguely human figure was spat out, thankfully with less force than the car; for a second, the three women just kept staring, then they all noticed the blonde hair in the characteristic hairdo, the remains of the Ghostbuster coveralls and the tiny proton pack the woman still had in one hand, a shocked gasp coming from all three as they realized who that was.

“Oh my God!” Abby was the first to get over her shock, running to where the woman was coming to her feet, blinking in confusion, “Holtzmann! Is that really you? You’re not possessed by Rowan now, are you?”

“I think not”, Holtzmann replied, and the sound of her voice sent a spark of lightning right into the pit of Erin’s belly; after hearing her speak with her strange high-pitched voice for so long, hearing her talk in this regular, human and very pleasant voice had quite the effect on her, and she had to swallow hard, hoping that no one was noticing.

“Oh”, Holtzmann let out, apparently only now realizing that she was no longer in this strange yellow shape; she held her hands up and stared at them, wiggled her fingers and made a fist, then looked down at her body, quite unperturbed by the fact that she was mostly undressed, the coveralls having been torn to shreds when her body had grown back to its normal size.

“Oh!” she said again, looking back up at the other three, eyes wide, “guys! I’m back to normal! No more Mini-Holtzmann!”

“Don’t even try to pretend you knew that would happen when you went in there with the car, you crazy woman”, Abby said, smiling through her tears, “seriously, Holtz! We all thought you’re dead! Um, I’d hug you, but you’re kinda… naked.”

“Oh”, Holtzmann said for the third time, as if she only realized now that now, even though she had been looking down at herself moments ago, “um… that is true, I’m decidedly undressed. There’s a blanket in the trunk of Ecto-1!”

“I’ll get it”, Erin quickly said, already moving towards the car, trying hard to not look at Holtzmann – it would be rude to stare at her after all, practically naked as she was, and anyway, she had no reason to stare, “um, here you go.”

She awkwardly thrusted the blanket at Holtzmann, who took it with a bright smile – one which oddly reminded Erin of the ones she had given her when she had been tiny, yellow and round, even though her teeth were back to normal human size – and thanked her as she wrapped herself up in it; now that she was covered, Erin dared to look at her again, amazed by the fact that her hair still looked pretty much like it had when she had been little and yellow, and that her eyes were the same bright blue.

“We better find you something proper to wear”, Abby said, making the engineer nod, “and let the mayor know that we saved the world. Two things I never thought I’d say in the same sentence.”

Holtzmann laughed, and Erin’s heart clenched up oddly at the sound; she had found her laughter adorable when she had been small and yellow, but this was something different, and she wasn’t quite what to think about these odd thoughts and feelings.

She cleared her throat as she felt her cheeks heat up, earning an odd look from Abby; thankfully, Abby didn’t comment though, focusing her attention on the men and women Rowan had frozen with his powers instead, his influence over them fading as they were able to move again, the researcher raising an eyebrow when she spotted Kevin among the crowd, their secretary amiably chatting with two of the men in black they knew all too well.

“Oh hey guys!” Kevin called out as he spotted them, waving enthusiastically and smiling brightly; if he remembered the time he had been possessed, it apparently hadn’t left any sort of lasting impression, his smile as bright and a bit dopey as ever.

“I was just telling these men how I helped saving the world”, Kevin said proudly, said men sighing in exasperation, clearly not sure that what Kevin had told him had any value; they thanked him for his efforts nonetheless, then turned to the Ghostbusters, to their credit not showing much of a reaction to Holtzmann back to human and wrapped up in a blanket.

“The mayor thanks you for the work you did here today”, the taller of the two said, quite stiffly, as if it was hard to actually say these words out loud, “he’ll expect a detailed report of what exactly happened and how you solved this crisis on his desk as fast as possible. By next Monday, ideally.”

“We’ll see what we can do”, Abby replied frostily, not having forgotten yet how the mayor had treated them the last time they had been at his office; thankfully, the man didn’t challenge her on that, but simply nodded, letting her know that the mayor’s office would be in touch before he moved on to see if everyone who’d been frozen by Rowan was alright and no one had been hurt.

“We should go home for now”, Abby suggested once the man was out of earshot, “and get some rest, that was exhausting. Physically and emotionally.”

She reached out and poked Holtzmann at the last word, the engineer poking her tongue out at her in response; it wasn’t as adorable as it had been when she had been tiny and yellow, but it still made Erin smile.

“That doesn’t work so well anymore now that you’re less adorable”, Patty said, making Holtzmann huff before she pointed out that she still was very adorable, thank you very much; they all laughed at that, feeling elevated and confident now that they had stopped Rowan for good, all four of them suddenly certain that now, everything would be just fine.


	20. Chapter 20

As Erin found out during the drive away from the Mercado, Holtzmann more or less had given up her apartment when she had been transformed by the lab incident, since thanks to her sudden lack of height, she hadn’t been able to reach anything anymore; she had lived with Dr Gorin for a while, then pretty much had made her home at the lab at Higgins, and now, she basically had no place to stay.

“I’ll just find a hotel or something”, she told Erin as they got into a cab together, Abby and Patty sharing another one, “the mayor better pay us well for saving the city, so footing the bill shouldn’t be a problem. Do you have any idea how nice it is to be able to talk normally again? I’ll never shut up.”

“I don’t mind”, Erin replied, sounding a bit dreamier than perhaps had been appropriate; hearing the sound of her own voice, she made herself shut up and blushed, but thankfully, Holtzmann didn’t seem to notice anything out of the ordinary, Erin clearing her throat in an attempt to sound more or less normal before she went on.

“You don’t have to go to a hotel, you know”, she said, hoping she wasn’t too forward, but after all, it wasn’t the first time she offered this, “my couch is still available, you should still fit on it. And you can borrow some clothes from me, I doubt any hotel would rent a room to you if you arrive there with just a blanket and no luggage.”

“And I can have a dinner which will not consist solely of bananas”, Holtzmann said, making her smile and nod, “honestly, I’ll never eat another banana in my life. Don’t ask me why my body was so keen on them while I was like this.”

“It was kinda cute though”, Erin told her, smiling again at the memory, “especially when you ate so many of them at once and then just laid there. But I’m glad you’re back to human, it must have been hard, transformed into this shape for so long…”

If the cabbie thought that their conversation was weird, he was pretty good at hiding this assessment, keeping any thoughts he might have had to himself; he only spoke up when he parked in front of Erin’s apartment building, telling them they were there and the price, Erin paying him and adding a generous tip before both Holtzmann and she got out of the car.

“I’ll find you some clothes”, Erin said as they walked up the stairs together, Holtzmann still wrapped up in her blanket, “do you want to shower first?”

“Nah, you can do first”, the engineer replied, giving her a dimpled smile which made her heart skip oddly, “it’s your apartment, I don’t wanna make you wait for your own shower.”

“It’d be okay”, Erin shrugged, unlocking the door and letting her enter first, “you’re my guest after all. But if I go first, you’ll get to choose what we’ll order for dinner, you must be starving for a hundred things after all those bananas.”

“Oh, I am”, Holtzmann said at once, nodding for emphasis; Erin gave her another smile, then let her know that they could order anything she wanted before she went to find her some clothes, telling herself that this was no different to having the mini-version of Holtzmann in her home and that there was no reason to have her heart beat so fast at the thought of Holtzmann sleeping on her couch, trying hard to convince herself of these words and utterly failing.

* * *

While Erin went to have her shower, Holtzmann used her phone to call Dr Gorin at the restaurant and let her know not only about the good news about the stopped apocalypse, but also about the fact that she was back to a normal human being; as Erin took off her coveralls and stuffed them into the washing machine, she heard her talking on the phone, until she stepped into the shower and turned on the water, the sound drowning out Holtzmann speaking and giving her a chance to focus on her own thoughts.

At least, she thought to herself, she hadn’t gotten slimed as drastically during her previous encounters with ghosts; there was a bit on her leg and some on her shoulders, but she could wash that off easily, happy that none of it had gotten into her hair.

 _Holtzmann’s hair looks exactly like it did when she was little and yellow_ , she thought to herself, the thought quite randomly coming out of nowhere, surprising her a bit, _Patty’s right, she was more adorable in that shape, but now she’s quite a bit more attractive. Oh my God, Erin, what are you thinking, stop it!_

She shook her head, as if that could make these thoughts fly out through her ears, scolding herself for this inappropriate thoughts about a co-worker – this wasn’t the first time in her life she was attracted to a woman, but she never had allowed herself to do more than think about these attractions, not even allowing herself any sort of fantasy in the privacy of her bedroom, always having told herself that she had to be normal and that she had to fit in, and having such feelings for another woman certainly would not make her fit in.

 _This makes no sense,_ she told herself while she washed her hair, doing so much more thoroughly than strictly necessary, just so she’d win time to sort her thoughts, _yes, you found her adorable when she was little and yellow, but that’s normal, she was like a cute child. Or like a cute cat. But now, she’s human, a perfectly regular human, you shouldn’t feel anything else for her than simple friendship. And you certainly shouldn’t ponder how attractive she is._

She shook her head again, then went wide-eyed as she realized how long she had been in the shower again; finishing quickly, before Holtzmann might start to get worried, Erin got out of the shower and towelled herself dry, not bothering with blow-drying her hair, pulling on the clothes she had readied immediately before she left the bathroom, finding Holtzmann on the couch, the engineer playing with a coin she had found God knew where, beaming up at her when she entered the room.

“All done”, Erin said, smiling back at her, “you can shower now if you want. Did you decide on dinner?”

“Pizza”, Holtzmann replied at once, “and I want all the toppings. Okay, maybe not _all_ of them, but many. I’ll make my choice in the shower. It’s great to have five fingers again by the way, engineering is more difficult than one might think with just three.”

She tossed the coin up in the air and caught it, then handed it to Erin with a flourish; Erin blushed as she accepted it, and the grin and wink Holtzmann gave her only made her blush worsen, the physicist cursing herself for her lack of self-control while Holtzmann got up and let her know she’d have that shower now.

“Uh, yes, sure”, Erin stammered, fighting the urge to facepalm at her sudden inability to speak coherently, “the clothes I found for you are on the little cupboard, right next to the sink.”

“Thanks Er”, Holtzmann said before she vanished into the bathroom, Erin feeling oddly warm and tingly inside at the pet name; she couldn’t remember the last time being addressed this way by someone had made her feel like this – her ex sometimes had called her Sweetheart, but it never had felt this good – and she shook her head again, telling herself not to interpret too much into this, Holtzmann and she were just friends, surely this didn’t have any deeper meaning, Holtzmann was just being friendly, probably especially so because Erin let her stay at her place again.

Deciding that she to distract herself from these thoughts, Erin moved to the kitchen, where she kept all sorts of take-out brochures in a drawer there; she selected her three favourite pizza places, making sure that all of them had an option for additional toppings, then returned to the living room and sat down on the couch, switching on the TV to check for news on the Times Square incident while she waited for Holtzmann to get done.

For a while, Erin channel-surfed, most channels bringing news about what had happened; only a few of them dared to say outright that it had been ghosts and that the Ghostbusters had been fighting them, others vaguely speculating about gas leaks and contaminated water, but Erin figured that sooner or later, the truth would come out – even if the mayor would try to hide it, she doubted that something so big could be hidden, not with all the people out there who had seen ghosts all over New York, and who knew how many potential witnesses for the Times Square fight.

Switching from channel to channel, Erin watched the news, barely noticing how much time went by as she did so; only after a while, she realized that she hadn’t heard the water run in the bathroom for quite some time, and suddenly, she was worried, a thousand unpleasant images rushing through her mind, of Holtzmann having fainted in the tub or suffering some sort of late effect from falling into the vortex, and she hopped up from the couch, cursing herself for not having noticed this for so long as she rushed to the bathroom.

Despite her worries, she managed to not simply barge in, but knocked tentatively, calling out “Holtzmann?”; when there was no answer, her alarm only grew, and she pushed the door open, trying to mentally prepare herself for a myriad of horrible sights as the bathroom came into view.

What she hadn’t been prepared for was to find Holtzmann in front of the mirror, dressed in the t-shirt and sweatpants Erin had provided for her, hair already done up in what appeared to be some sort of trademark style for her – and with tears trickling down her cheeks as she stared at her reflection, Erin’s heart flying out to her at once, all her worries about inappropriate thoughts forgotten.

“Holtz”, she said, then realized that she had no idea what else to say; she stepped closer to the engineer and tentatively hugged her, tightening her embrace at once though when she felt Holtzmann cling to her, the engineer shuddering as she buried her face in Erin’s shoulder.

“I thought I’d never get this back”, she mumbled, voice muffled by Erin’s sweatshirt, but still the physicist understood her well enough, “I thought I’d be stuck as a little yellow thing forever, and then I fell into that vortex and now…”

“Now you’re back”, Erin said, rubbing her back soothingly, “back from the vortex, and back to human, and it’s all going to be okay.”

She didn’t know if she had said the right words, and she didn’t know what else to say, and so, she just fell silent, held Holtzmann close and rubbed her back; and Holtzmann kept holding on to her in return, but her flow of tears slowly stopped, and so, Erin figured that she had done something right after all, and she was glad about it.


	21. Chapter 21

The noise Holtzmann let out when she bit into the first slice of pizza made Erin blushed, and hurriedly hid behind her own food, not wanting the engineer to notice and ask her if anything was wrong – it was a sound Erin never had expected to hear in her kitchen, and certainly not caused by food.

It had sounded more like a sound one would expect during intimacy in the bedroom, she thought to herself, cheeks still burning, her flush only increasing when she found herself wondering if Holtzmann actually did sound like that when she was enjoying herself in bed.

“That is so good”, Holtzmann sighed, licking her lips, Erin silently cursing her for looking so _good_ when doing that, “honestly, I don’t even know why mini-me was so eager to eat bananas, but I’m so glad I can enjoy things like pizza again. Ha, mini-me. Mini-Holtzmann. Minioltzmann!”

“I imagine”, Erin said with a grimace, raising an eyebrow at the bit about Minioltzmann, “jeez, I had a stomach bug for a week once and all I could keep down was broth and dry bread, and that already got tiresome after a few days. Poor you.”

Holtzmann took another big bite of pizza in response, and while she at least didn’t moan like that again, she still rolled her eyes in bliss; Erin had to swallow heavily, then scolded herself again for feeling like this, once again reminding herself that this was neither appropriate, nor correct, telling herself that Holtzmann was not only a friend and colleague, but a woman, too, and certainly she couldn’t have these feelings for another woman.

“You okay?” Holtzmann distracted her from these thoughts, only making her feel guiltier, “you zoned out a bit there?”

“I’m fine”, Erin reassured her, winning some time by taking a bite from her own pizza before she continued, “just thought about all of the excitement today, you know. I’m really glad you came back from that vortex.”

“Me too”, Holtzmann solemnly said, making the redhead smile at her; then, they focused on their food, finishing quickly before they made their way to the living room and sat down on the couch there, watching TV for a while, simply relaxing and unwinding after the exciting day they had had.

At least, Erin thought to herself, Holtzmann probably was relaxing; she herself felt many things with the engineer so close to her, but not relaxed, her heart beating quite fast in her chest, and she was acutely aware of the warmth of Holtzmann’s body on the couch next to her.

Thankfully, she didn’t need to hold back her strange feelings for long, since Holtzmann yawned fairly quickly after they had sat down; and she herself started to feel tired, too, and so, she suggested that they should get some rest not too long after they had gotten comfortable.

“I’ll get you a blanket and pillow again”, she added, earning a grateful look and a nod from the engineer; she smiled at her, then went to get those things, Holtzmann looking as if she was about to fall asleep on the spot by the time she came back.

“Sleep well”, Erin said as she handed her the blanket and pillow; Holtzmann wished her the same, then laid down and got comfortable while Erin retreated to her bedroom, changing into her pyjama there, letting out a hearty yawn as she laid down.

And just when she was about to fall asleep, she heard the all too familiar _chrr-pii… chrr-pii…_ from the living room; she went wide-eyed as she imagined Holtzmann having changed back to her tiny yellow form and quickly got out of bed again, sneaking into the living room, not wanting to wake the engineer up, eager to have some comforting words ready, should she really have gone back to this strange form.

Instead of a tic-tac shaped yellow being though, Erin found a perfectly human Holtzmann on her couch, sleeping deeply and snoring; and she had to bite her fist to hold back the giggles as she realized that yellow tiny Holtzmann and human Holtzmann snored exactly the same way, rushing back to her bedroom and burying her face in the pillow there so she could giggle hysterically, doing so until she fell into a deep, exhausted sleep.

* * *

When Erin and Holtzmann arrived at the restaurant in the next morning, they were the first of the team to do so; Dr Gorin was waiting in front of the door though, and even though the smile she gave Holtzmann was small, Erin could tell it was genuine and from the heart, and probably a rare sight.

“Good to see you back, Jillian”, Dr Gorin said, the engineer giving her a bright smile, said smile only widening when the elder woman stepped closer and briefly hugged her; the hug didn’t last long, but still Holtzmann looked happy when her mentor stepped back again, and somehow, Erin immediately knew that hugs from this stern woman were even rarer than smiles.

“Good to be back”, Holtzmann let the elder woman know, earning another small smile, “I’ve spent way too long as a little yellow tic-tac. Abby and Patty aren’t here yet?”

“It seems not”, Dr Gorin told her, Erin checking her watch in response and trying to remember if they had settled a starting time for that day, “I knocked, but no one answered. Perhaps they just haven’t heard me.”

“Only one way to find out”, Erin said, shrugging as she pulled the key from her pocket; as it turned out, Abby and Patty weren’t there yet after all, Erin figuring she might as well make some coffee while Holtzmann excitedly told Dr Gorin she would show her some of the gear she had made then, to pass the time until they would arrive.

They went to Holtzmann’s workbench, Erin watching them go before she moved to the small kitchen and focused on preparing the coffee machine; she heard Holtzmann talk excitedly, smiling to herself, glad that the engineer could talk properly again and could easily be understood, trying to imagine how hard it had to be, being stuck in such a small body and forced to use such a strange language.

“…and Erin did the math for this”, the physicist got distracted from these thoughts by hearing her own name, turning to look at the engineer, neither Holtzmann, nor Gorin looking her way though, both of them focused on the equipment Holtzmann was showing her mentor, “seriously, she’s brilliant, I got done so fast with all of this just because of her amazing skill.”

Erin felt herself blush at this praise, and as if she somehow had felt this, Holtzmann looked up and at her; she gave her a bright smile and a wink, and Erin felt her blush deepen, smiled back at her though, unable to stop doing so even when Holtzmann looked at Dr Gorin again, and completely missing the look the elder woman shot her.


	22. Chapter 22

Quite a bit later, Dr Gorin had left, and Holtzmann was in the garage again, working on repairing Ecto-1; the car had taken quite the damage during the brief trip into the vortex, to Patty’s chagrin, but Holtzmann had reassured her that she could fix it all, and the historian was confident that the engineer would keep her word.

They could all hear her work on the car, banging and clanking noises coming from the garage; every now and then, Erin thought about going there, to see how Holtzmann was doing, but found herself oddly shy about doing so, now that the engineer as back to human.

_This was easier when she was still tiny, yellow and adorable,_ Erin thought to herself as she glanced towards the stairs leading to the garage again, _I mean, she’s still adorable, but also hot. What! Erin, what are you thinking. Stop it._

She shook her head as if to clear it, belatedly realizing that Abby had approached her; the researcher gave her an odd look, didn’t say anything about the gesture though, smiling at her instead, sounding a bit gleeful when she told her that the mayor’s office had called.

“His PA wants to meet us”, she told the physicist, “she didn’t say much yet, but she did say that the mayor appreciates what we did for the city. Maybe even for the world. Anyway, I told her we’re busy during office hours today and that we can meet her at six at the pub around the corner, that’s okay, right?”

“Sure”, Erin gave back, suddenly realizing that now, she had the perfect excuse to go see Holtzmann, shooting up from her chair so fast she made Abby take a step back in surprise, “I’ll go let Holtz know!”

“Okay”, Abby said, raising an eyebrow at her enthusiasm; Erin gave her a smile which she hoped was innocent, then walked to the garage, trying hard to not look as if she was hurrying, but she could feel Abby’s eyes on her back, and figured she wasn’t doing a very good job.

Shrugging it off, she made her way to the garage; she rehearsed what she would say as she walked, only for all the words to vanish from her mind within the blink of an eye when she entered and actually saw Holtzmann.

The hood of the car was open, and Holtzmann was working on the engine – bent over the vehicle, giving Erin an all too good view of her butt, the physicist stopping and staring, unable to look away or to form a coherent thought.

Finally, she realized what she was doing and, wondering if she was being creepy, cleared her throat, not quite trusting herself to speak; thankfully, Holtzmann heard her though, and straightened up before she turned to look at her, the smile she gave her making Erin blush yet again.

“The mayor”, she brought out, clearing her throat again before she could continue, “um, the mayor’s PA called. Jennifer Lynch? She wants to meet us, Abby told her we’ll be busy all day, but that we’ll meet her after work at the pub around the corner. Um, yeah, that’s all. I just wanted to tell you that.”

“Thank you”, Holtzmann replied, still smiling; and even though Erin still felt flushed, she smiled back, then, not quite willing to leave yet, moved closer to the car, amazed and impressed at how much better it looked already, still remembering well how banged up it had been after the vortex had spat it back out.

“Wow”, she said, suddenly eager to let Holtzmann know that she was seeing the progress she had made and that she was quite impressed by it, “you got so much done already, Holtz, how are you so fast?”

“I got ten fingers again”, Holtzmann gave back, wiggling said fingers and grinning, “work is much faster now than it was with just six. And the damage isn’t thaaaat bad, it just looked much worse than it was.”

While she had been speaking, Erin had been moving closer to take a look at the engine, even though she didn’t know much about how those worked; belatedly, she realized how close she ended up to Holtzmann by doing so, and when she turned her head to look at the engineer, their faces were just inches apart, Erin’s breath getting caught in her throat.

Her gaze dropped to Holtzmann’s lips, for merely a second, but still Holtzmann noticed; her eyes were sparkling when Erin’s met them again, and the physicist had to swallow heavily, suddenly wanting to kiss her so badly that it almost hurt.

_No_ , she scolded herself before she could give in to the impulse, _you can’t, this is inappropriate and wrong! Stop it!_

“Ahem!” she let out, loud enough to make Holtzmann jump, the noise accompanied by Erin taking a step back, out of the danger zone, “that was all. Like I said. I should get back to work.”

“Um, okay”, Holtzmann gave back, Erin giving her a fake nervous smile before she hurried out of the garage and back to her desk – and wondering the whole way if she had imagined the disappointment in Holtzmann’s eyes or if it really had been there.

* * *

During the workday, Erin did her best to keep her mind away from what almost had happened in the garage, even though it was difficult; at least, she thought to herself as she worked on the report for the mayor, then on some of her more difficult equations, Holtzmann was working in the garage all day, and thus not where Erin could see her, keeping the temptation the engineer embodied down to a minimum.

Still Erin thought back to the moment in the garage again and again, no matter how hard she tried to keep her mind away from it; and she found herself wondering what Holtzmann would have done, had Erin really kissed her, how she would have reacted, if the reaction would have been positive or negative.

If her doubts had been about a man, she simply would have asked Abby, their friendship having been repaired to the point where she felt she could have done so; with Holtzmann being female though, Erin wasn’t quite sure how her best friend would react, and the last thing she wanted was to see shock or perhaps even contempt in Abby’ eyes, and lose her again so shortly after they had found each other again.

She held back a sigh as her gaze strayed towards the stairs leading to the garage again, then forced herself to focus on her work yet again; and as the workday came to an end, and they got ready to meet Jennifer Lynch at the pub, Erin asked herself how long she would have to deal with these strange upsetting feelings – and what she would do if they wouldn’t go away anytime soon.


	23. Chapter 23

Despite the fact that she had been the one who had suggested the exact time of the meeting, Jennifer Lynch was late, the four women having ordered and received their drinks by the time the PA arrived; she apologized for being late, then started talking business right away, not bothering with small talk.

“The mayor thanks you for your discretion”, she stated, the Ghostbusters exchanging a look at that, since so far, they mostly had been discreet because there hadn’t really been a chance to act otherwise, “it’s not working, not at all, but the mayor thanks you anyway. And he wants you to continue researching this field, fully funded, of course, so we’ll be prepared, in case something like this ever happens again.”

“Oh”, Erin let out, not quite having expected this, but happy about, an emotion she saw mirrored on the faces of Abby, Patty and Holtzmann, “that’s… smart.”

“The mayor’s office will provide anything”, Jennifer told them, Erin fighting hard to hide her excitement at hearing this, Holtzmann not bothering to hide her emotions though, just grinning from ear to ear, “anything you need, you say the word and it’s yours.”

 _A bigger lab_ , Erin thought to herself at once, remembering the firehouse the real estate agent had shown them before they had ended up at the restaurant; just to make sure, she asked “Anything?”, unable to hold back a smile anymore when Jennifer nodded and confirmed, with a firm “anything”.

“I know just what we need”, Erin told her, smile widening; Jennifer pulled a notebook from her bag in response, and started writing, the other three Ghostbusters soon adding their wishes when they realized how big the lab Erin had in mind would be, and if the PA found any of the requests strange – like Holtzmann’s demand that she needed at least two fire extinguishers for each floor, and four workbenches for her part of the lab – she didn’t let it show, just nodding along as she wrote.

“Alright”, she said once the four women had finished listing their needs, at least for now, “I’ll make sure this is all delivered to your new location. The office will settle the contract for the new lab, I’ll contact you as soon as you can move there, but it’ll just be a few days.”

“Thank you”, Abby said, smiling widely as well at this point, only now fully realizing that all her dreams were coming true, that soon, she would not only work on researching ghosts and paranormal phenomena, but also do so with her best friends, “this means a lot, and with your support, we’ll be able to do some groundbreaking science in the future. Thank you.”

“We have to thank you”, Jennifer replied solemnly, packing up her things, “if you hadn’t been ready when this whole mess happened, the world would look very different today. The general public might not know what you did for them, but the mayor does, and he thanks you. Discreetly, of course.”

“Of course”, Abby echoed, still smiling though, and even though she would have liked to be acknowledged by the public, Erin realized she didn’t care as much as she would have a few weeks ago, the joy at being funded by the government and getting everything they’d need to do their science outweighing the lack of public acknowledgement by far.

“We’ll be in touch”, Jennifer promised as she came to her feet, giving the four women a brief smile, “see you soon at your new lab.”

She said goodbye, then hurried out of the pub, in a quick, business-like stride; the four women watched her go, waiting until she was out of earshot – before they all started grinning and congratulating each other, now allowing themselves to let their happiness show fully.

“We did great, guys”, Abby said proudly, making the others nod, “and just think of the amazing work we’ll be able to do, with the new lab and equipment! We’ll get such awesome things done there!”

“Indeed”, Erin beamed, just as proud as Abby was; Patty nodded her agreement, Holtzmann grinning happily, too – before she suddenly cleared her throat and stood up, grabbing her glass of beer as she did so, the other three looking at her curiously.

“I want to make a toast”, Holtzmann declared, then took in a deep breath – before she started to talk, rushed and stilted, showing that she wasn’t very comfortable, but not stopping, either, clearly eager to get the words out.

“When that incident happened at the lab and I got transformed into a round yellow being I thought I’d never get back to normal and that I’d never work at a lab again, I was sure Abby would kick me out”, she said, Abby looking shocked, never even having considered that, “I never thought I’d have a friend until I met Abby and then when that happened I thought that friendship is over. But it wasn’t, you accepted me and treated me just the same without even a second of hesitation, and then you two guys joined us and it was the same with you, you cared so much for me even then. I feel like I have a family now, I never thought I’d have that, even before the incident, and I care for you guys so much too, I love you.”

She fell silent and sat down, clutching her glass tighter than necessary; touched, Erin swallowed heavily while Patty reached out and rubbed Holtzmann’s back, all three of them able to tell how much the engineer was struggling to keep her emotions under control.

“That was beautiful”, Patty told her, making her smile a bit before she cleared her throat loudly enough to make Erin jump, “that was the real thing, right there.”

“And we love you, too”, Erin blurted out, before she could stop herself; Holtzmann’s smile widened slightly, the engineer thankfully recovering quickly, back to her usual self by the time the four of them finished their drinks.

“Alright guys”, Abby said, putting her empty glass down on the table, “we’re gonna be busy tomorrow, so I suggest we call it a night now.”

Erin nodded absent-mindedly, still thinking about what Holtzmann had said; the engineer had been looking straight at her when she had said “I love you”, and Erin wondered if it had been simply because she had been sitting right there in Holtzmann’s line of sight, or if it had been because there was some other, deeper meaning to it.

She hung back as the four of them left the pub, suddenly eager to end up alone with Holtzmann, even though she wasn’t sure what she would say or do; she wondered if Abby and Patty noticed what she was doing as they said goodbye and Erin mumbled something about walking for a bit, but if they did, they didn’t say anything, just waving at Erin and Holtzmann before they turned and walked off together, sharing a part of the way home.

“So”, Erin said as Holtzmann and she walked the other way, realizing that she had the perfect reason to spend more time with the engineer, “you want to come to my place again? I wouldn’t mind…”

“If you really don’t mind, I’d be happy to”, Holtzmann said, smiling gratefully at her, “once we get the firehouse, I’ll claim one of the rooms there, but until then…”

“You’re more than welcome to stay with me until then”, Erin said, making her smile again, “and longer, if the firehouse has no proper rooms or anything, I really don’t mind.”

“You’re the best, Er-Bear”, Holtzmann declared in response, making Erin blush and giggle, and prompting her to feel like a teenager; Holtzmann grinned at her, clearly happy to have a place to stay for the time being, the two continuing their way together afterwards, with Holtzmann perfectly unaware of the thoughts running wild in Erin’s mind as the physicist tried to figure out if she should say or do anything about her feelings, and what she could say or do, should she decide that she wanted to.


	24. Chapter 24

Quite a while later, the two women had gotten comfortable on Erin’s couch, having found a moderately interesting movie in TV; Erin found it hard to focus though, thinking back to Holtzmann’s speech again and again, until she decided she couldn’t keep quiet about it any longer.

“Holtz?” she said, muting the TV and making the engineer look at her curiously, “I’ve been thinking. About… about your speech.”

“Oh?” Holtzmann let out, not sure what to expect; Erin didn’t look as if she was uncomfortable or angry, but at this point, Holtzmann knew that she was good at hiding her feelings, if she wanted to be, and decided to not say anything else, sensing that there was more Erin wanted to tell her.

“It was very touching”, Erin said in a soft tone, her gaze briefly dropping to her legs before she looked up again to meet Holtzmann’s eyes, the engineer able to tell how much willpower this had cost her, “like Patty said, very beautiful. And very genuine. And it… it made me… realize a few things.”

Sensing that she could need the encouragement, Holtzmann reached out and took tender hold of Erin’s hand, hoping she was doing the right thing and not pushing Erin away with the gesture; she already hadn’t been good with such situations before the incident, and the time she had spent as a yellow tic-tac shaped being hadn’t helped with her troubles about handling such situations.

To her relief though, she apparently had done the right thing, since Erin managed a small smile, and didn’t look away again; Holtzmann smiled back at her, hoping she could encourage her to say more, sensing that Erin hadn’t said it all yet.

“Like you said, when you were still that little yellow thing, I already cared for you”, Erin told her, and Holtzmann’s heart started beating faster as she wondered where this might lead, if it would go where she hoped it would, “you just were so cute, and sweet, and… just you, even in that… shape. Did you know you snore exactly the same way now, that you’re back to human? Anyway… you’re back and I… still care for you, but it’s more than that now.”

Holtzmann nodded, wanting to say that it was the same for her, that she felt so much more than just friendship for Erin, had done so for quite a while now; she still remained quiet though, not wanting to say something at the wrong moment and make Erin clam up, sensing that they were so close to something important and big happening, and not wanting to ruin it.

“You mean very much to me”, Erin told her, swallowing heavily, “more than a friend and colleague should, and it might be inappropriate and wrong but I can’t help and… God I wish I could stop talking and just _do_ something, but I’m not sure if you feel the same and I don’t want to make things awkward and…”

“Erin”, Holtzmann finally dared to interrupt her, the physicist giving her a helpless, almost imploring look, silently asking her to do what she couldn’t, “there’s nothing you could do which would make things awkward between us. But if you want to talk less and do more, I think I can help you.”

And with that, Holtzmann leaned in and kissed her, a gentle and innocent kiss; a soft sigh came from the physicist as she kissed her back at once, feeling so relieved and happy that she was surprised she didn’t actually float away from the couch.

“Thank you”, Erin said once they had pulled apart again, then nearly smacked herself for saying such a dumb thing; clearly, Holtzmann didn’t judge though, just smiling at her, still holding on to her hand, the feeling of her fingers holding on to hers making Erin feel oddly lightheaded.

“That was a dumb thing to say”, the physicist still mumbled, blushing when Holtzmann smiled in response, “but at least it shut me up so… it worked. And it was really nice.”

“Just really nice?” Holtzmann said, feigning disappointment and making Erin smile, “aw, I have to try harder then. I was aiming for rocking your world.”

“Well”, Erin gave back, sounding coy and even batting her eyelashes at the engineer, “you’ll just have to try again then, huh?”

“I suppose so”, Holtzmann agreed solemnly, Erin having another moment to smile at her – before Holtzmann kissed her again, with much more intensity and passion this time, the physicist practically sinking into her arms at that second kiss.

 _Mission accomplished_ , Holtzmann still had time to think, then Erin, feeling daring again, slid her hand beneath her shirt, and for a while, she didn’t think much about anything anymore.

* * *

“Well”, Abby said a few days later, proudly looking up at the firehouse, the last few bits of equipment just having been delivered on that very day, making the firehouse ready for use, even though all four women were sure they would have to do some remodelling before it really would be exactly the way they wanted it, “that’s quite the move upwards, huh? From ‘fired from Columbia and Higgins’ to ‘government funded ghost research in an actual firehouse’.”

“It’s amazing”, Erin said, Holtzmann squeezing her hand; the couple smiled at each other, Erin blushing a bit at how Abby rolled her eyes affectionately – both Patty and she hadn’t been very surprised when they had been told that Erin and Holtzmann were dating now, and were fully supportive of the relationship, still teasing them though whenever they were acting sweet and cute with each other.

“Not bad for a former yellow, tic-tac shaped being, yup”, Holtzmann agreed, making Erin laugh – before the engineer let go of her hand and cried that she’d get the second floor for her lab, Patty gasping in indignation as response to this claim.

“Holtzy!” she then protested as Holtzmann took off and ran towards the entrance, “you can’t do that!”

“Just diiiiid”, Holtzmann sing-songed in reply, making both Erin and Abby laugh this time; she vanished into the firehouse, Patty close behind her, Erin finding herself unable to stop smiling, at both their antics and at the new lab they would be using from this day on.

“Admit it”, Abby said, making her look at her again, “you never thought things would turn out like this when you came to yell at me about the book.”

“Never in my wildest dreams”, Erin admitted at once, not bothering to lie, “but I’m glad it did, you know. I’m happy.”

It was a simple declaration, but it came from the heart; Abby smiled and nodded, briefly hugging her as she said “me too” – before the two went inside the firehouse as well, ready for their work there and for the challenges the future might bring.


End file.
